Genre: Adult, Memoir
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I have reviewed several memoirs. This one made me contemplate many things. This is the life story of a woman who fell in love with a young Navy soldier. They married before he shipped off to Korea. What was supposed to be three months turned into almost a year of separation. From the beginning I saw how strong a woman she was. It made me wonder why she would give in to her husband’s thoughts on everything. Then I looked at the time period. I wasn’t born until the late 50’s. Even then young ladies were expected to behave a certain way. Women ‘had their place’ in society. I was surprised at how long she and her husband John were together. I wondered how she could have been so blind to the signs that things were not well with her marriage. Then I thought about my own first marriage and was suddenly able to identify with her. She did find love again. That didn’t mean things were real smooth. I understood the “first marriage baggage”. This story made me ponder several things. When my son, newly married, joined the army his new wife was ecstatic. She had all of these ideas of what army life would be like. We tried to tell her about the loneliness she would feel when he was gone, even with family to surround her. He wasn’t even shipped out of the states when she left him. He found another woman shortly thereafter who embraced the military life he loved. She supported him when he was shipped to South Korea. I thought about Evelyn’s concern while her husband was there. As a mother I was worried when my son was stationed there so close to the demilitarized zone.
I felt very sad for her and the relationship she lost with her daughter. I have a relationship with my daughter, but she is closer to her father her left me and the kids for another woman. I don’t understand why her daughter treated her the way she did. However, I drew strength from her story. The old saying that nothing is fair in love and war rang so true. I applaud this author and the strength her story shows to women everywhere, no matter what their walk in life. This was a wonderful story. Through heartache comes strength and hope.
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