Shane’s getting ready for yet another deployment overseas, but this one feels different. This time, when he leaves, he won’t have anything to come back to – his marriage fell apart, he no longer has a house, and he’s sold just about all his things. Shane wasn’t really in the mood to celebrate their last night stateside, but his troops are his responsibility…and he knows the kind of trouble they are likely to get into if he’s not there. But after a chance encounter at the bar brings him face-to-face with a woman who will change his future.
Because of You is the inaugural installment in the Coming Home series from best-selling author Jessica Scott. Focused on the US Army, Scott’s books pull on her own experience as an active duty army officer and war veteran. With a look at both life downrange and back home, Scott provides an honest conversation about the physical and mental dangers of war for our military, and the mental toll for their loved ones left behind. This book shows the pain and struggle for the injured as they look for their new normal at home. But above all, this book is about the power of community and friendship in helping us heal.
I give Because of You 4 out of 5 stars. This book felt so real to me as a friend and family member to Purple Heart recipients, I have been part of the stateside support network for injured service members. The look at the self-blame and survivor guilt, the struggle through PT, and the lack of appropriate housing are all real challenges for our injured heroes. While parts of this book verged on Hallmark Movie, the realness of the storyline mitigated the sappiness of romance. Scott crafted beautiful characters and interpersonal relationships that kept my attention and I was sad to leave when I finished the book!
With discussions of war, injuries, suicidal thoughts, and substance abuse, this book may not be appropriate for all readers. If you enjoyed Purple Hearts by Tess Wakefield or Back to You by Jess Mastorakas, you will love this book! I would also recommend this for readers looking to understand more about the struggles of our injured veterans and their families with the very honest depictions in these pages.
I chose Because of You for the Read With Lindsey Reading Challenge prompt “with a military character”. I would normally have chosen a Jack Ryan novel for this prompt, but wanted to try something new. This book has been on my TBR stack for quite a while, but I have to admit I did find it hard to read given how close my own personal experience lines up with that of Jen’s. We chose this prompt in honor of Armed Forces Day this past weekend, but also Memorial Day coming up at the end of the month.
To all our military friends and their families, words cannot express our gratitude for the sacrifices you make for our families here stateside. Thank you.
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What I’m Reading
- Current print book: No Other World, Rahul Mehta
- Current audio book: The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold
- Book I’m most looking forward to: Marrying the Ketchups, Jennifer Close
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