It’s is the perfect time for military families to plan a long weekend to their favorite local vacation spot. We love to stay at on base beach lodging if it exists, which is not to be confusing with on base camping. Because camping is a four letter word in our home. Why sleep outside when you can sleep inside?
At any rate, no matter where your summer travels take you, a summer reading list is a must for military spouses. You might be thinking you don’t have time for reading, but I’m going to tell you something that might surprise you! Most books around around 50,000 words and the average person reads around 200 words per minute. Which means the average book will take you around 4.16 hours to complete. (I’ll spare you the math, but it’s correct!)
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The Ultimate Summer Reading List for Military Spouses
If you read for 20-30 minutes per day, you can easily read one book for week and get a huge list of amazing books under your belt (or beach towel). Plus, these books will nurture your military spouse soul, or at least offer a fresh perspective on military life!
15 Years of War by Kristine Schellhaas
“15 Years of War is a unique he said/she said perspective on coping with war in modern-day America. It reveals a true account of how a dedicated Marine and his equally committed spouse faced unfathomable challenges and achieved triumph, from the days just before 9/11 through 15 years of training workups, deployments, and other separations. This story of faith, love, and resilience offers insight into how a decade and a half of war has redefined what it means to be a military family.” Read More…
You Know When the Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon
“Through fiction of dazzling skill and astonishing emotional force, Siobhan Fallon welcomes readers into the American army base at Fort Hood, Texas, where U.S. soldiers prepare to fight, and where their families are left to cope after the men are gone. They’ll meet a wife who discovers unsettling secrets when she hacks into her husband’s email, and a teenager who disappears as her mother fights cancer. Powerful, singular, and unforgettable, these stories will resonate deeply with readers and mark the debut of a new talent of tremendous note.” Read more…
Stories Around the Table by 40 military families and Terri Barnes
“In Stories Around the Table, military spouses, parents, children, and service members gather together to laugh, cry, lend perspective, and share personal stories from their military life experience. From poignant to practical, tragic to humorous, these candid conversations shed heartfelt insight on many aspects of military life: friendship, depression, romance in military marriage, caring for children with special needs in a mobile lifestyle, renewing relationships after deployment, career challenges for spouses, changing schools, post-traumatic stress, faith, grief, and so much more.” Read more…
We Were Soldiers Once…And Young by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.)
“In November 1965, some 450 men of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, under the command of Lt. Col. Hal Moore, were dropped by helicopter into a small clearing in the Ia Drang Valley. They were immediately surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers. Three days later, only two and a half miles away, a sister battalion was chopped to pieces. Together, these actions at the landing zones X-Ray and Albany constituted one of the most savage and significant battles of the Vietnam War.
How these men persevered–sacrificed themselves for their comrades and never gave up–makes a vivid portrait of war at its most inspiring and devastating.” Read more…
Behind the Blue Star Banner by Michelle S. Cuthrell
“Michelle Cuthrell was 23 years old, nine months out of college and 11 weeks pregnant with her first child when her husband deployed to Iraq in August 2005.
With a baby in her belly and a husband in her heart, this newlywed embarked on a crazy journey that led her though a year of tests and trials, hearbreak and hard times, as she lived alone in the freezes an frosts of Fairbanks, Alaska. There Michelle endured the prenancy and rearing of the couple’s first of two children as her husband, Matt, served with the 172nd Stryker brigade in Mosul, Iraq.” Read more…
God Strong by Sara Horn
“Currently, more than one million military wives care for their families and their homes, often while their husbands are deployed out of state or overseas for months at a time. These women can experience a roller coaster of emotions including disappointment, loneliness, and fear. Sara Horn, the wife of a navy reservist, understands the challenges these women face. She knows how to talk about faith and spiritual truths through the filter of military life. In her encouraging book, Horn shares her personal stories, as well as wisdom and anecdotes of other wives from all branches of service.” Read more…
Right Side Up by Judy Davis
“There is no one-size-fits-all answer to living a happier life–military or otherwise–but the exercises in this book will help you create your best plan based on your needs, your personality, and your insights. Move through the emotional side of military life with strength and joy–and land right side up!” Read more…
The 5 Love Languages Military Edition by Gary Chapman
“Guided by input from dozens of military couples in all stages of their careers, authors Gary Chapman and former military wife Jocelyn Green offer you an unparalleled tool for navigating these challenges. Adapted from #1 New York Time bestseller The 5 Love Languages, this military edition helps heal broken relationships and strengthen healthy ones.” Read more…
Tour of Duty by Sara Horn
“Tour of Duty: Preparing Our Hearts for Deployment – Member Book is a Bible study for Military Wives. Participants will join together with others who have a common thread―husbands who are being or have been deployed. This study helps wives deal with the emotional twists and turns they may not be ready to face.” Read more…
Journey Through Deployment by Kathryn Sneed
“Deployment is an uncertain time filled with many fears. You may wonder how you will get through each day, how you will cope, and what you will do during this time. The fears and worries can be endless. But the journey doesn’t have to be intimidating. You too, can learn to step forward with confidence and experience hope, joy, and encouragement in deployment.” Read more…
Dinner With the Smileys by Sarah Smiley
“Sarah’s motivation was to fill a void in her family life: that empty chair at the dining room table while her Navy pilot husband, Dustin, was deployed overseas for a year. But what started as a gesture meant to distract the boys from missing their Dad became a joyous journey as the unlikeliest people accepted the invitations… and brought dessert. The Smiley family discovered that a surprising number of people really are available for dinner. You just have to ask.
Each dinner guest taught them about life, and the importance of sharing something simple and intimate–like a meal–to cement these valuable lessons in place.” Read more…
Men of Honor Series by K.C. Lynn
“Precious lives were saved when three brave Navy SEALs went against orders, embarking on a rescue mission of their own. A mission that will never be forgotten and changed the course of their lives forever. While they will never regret their decision, it came with heavy consequence.
Now they must fight to protect the women they love while also battling the new and existing demons that torture their souls, from death, corruption, destruction and war. These men are strong, honorable and will do everything they can to overcome the past that continues to haunt them.” Read more…
Finding Joy: The Year Apart by Hope N. Griffen
“As a military spouse and mother (with one of her children being a young cancer survivor), Hope has faced some long, lonely nights questioning God’s faithfulness and the strength of her marriage. If you’ve ever found yourself in a long-distance marriage and wondered if it was possible not only to survive but also to thrive, then this book is for you. Hope invites you-through personal experience, examples of others in history, and Scripture-to explore the possibility of a stronger more fulfilling marriage. Together we are stronger. Together we can overcome any obstacle. You don’t have to do it alone.” Read more…
Modern Military Spouse by J.D. Collins, Lauren Tamm and Jo, My Gosh!
“Prepare and navigate PCS moves, military homecomings and military deployments easier. Understand terms, acronyms and abbreviations all in one convenient location. Gain instant access to over 22+ printable checklists. Learn how to navigate getting an education and managing your career as a military spouse. Build a budget that will work for your military family, using our step-by-step guide for finances and a downloadable spreadsheet. Learn the keys to nurturing a military marriage that will survive the challenges of military life. Help your child through military life using key resources and best tips for parenting military kids.” Read more…
Thank You for Your Service by David Finkel
“In Thank You for Your Service, Finkel follows many of those same men as they return home and struggle to reintegrate―both into their family lives and into American society at large. He is with them in their most intimate, painful, and hopeful moments as they try to recover, and in doing so, he creates an indelible, essential portrait of what life after war is like―not just for these soldiers, but for their wives, widows, children, and friends, and for the professionals who are truly trying, and to a great degree failing, to undo the damage that has been done.” Read more…
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
“This #1 New York Times best-selling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing.” Perfect for spouses looking to simplify military life! Read more…
These are books for military spouses.
There are millions and millions of books out there to read and enjoy. But these books? These are just for you–the military spouse.
Even if you aren’t an avid reader, I encourage you to choose one book and read it this summer. You life may not “revolve” around military life, but I promise you, when you hit one of those military life challenges that seems insurmountable, the life lessons learned from one of these books will give you the push you need to carry on and move forward. I guarantee it.
Want more on military life?
- “What I Wish I’d Known Before Becoming Military Spouse”
- How Strong Military Spouses Rock Deployment
- The Real Reason Being a Military Wife is So Hard
- The Biggest Mistake a Military Spouse Can Make
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