Insight into Army Wives - really, into Army families...

...and probably more accurate than the eponymousTV show, and certainly moreso than The Unit.

1ST BDE. SPOUSE PENS BOOK ON ARMY WIVES

By Anna Staatz
Staff writer

Hoping to share the everyday moments of ordinary Army wives, Janelle Mock penned the book, "Portraits of the Toughest Job in the Army: Voices and Faces of Modern Army Wives."
Mock, who is married to Sgt. Steven Mock, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, currently lives in Sammamish, Wash., a Seattle suburb where she grew up.

The book details the stories of Army wives Mock has met during the few years her husband
has been in the Army - their fears, hopes, anger, frustration and joy. What she heard from other military wives after her husband joined the Army, Mock said was inspiring. "What they felt was so ordinary, I saw as moving and poignant moments that deserved to be shared," Mock said. "One such moment was while I was on a walk, watching a neighbor carefully kiss and hold the letter to her husband one last time before sliding the decorated envelope through the
mail slot. These are real life moments of this time of war unseen beyond the post gates."

One of Mock's primary goals with the book, she said, was to help military wives find comfort in knowing they are not alone. "I want them to read it and know that the feelings, their experiences
are okay," Mock said. "It is okay to be depressed and frustrated at times. It is okay to support your husband and what he does."

She interviewed wives beginning in summer 2005. She found them via word of mouth, family readiness group announcements, e-mail, flyers and connections with other Army wives. They came from all backgrounds and were married, engaged or seriously dating Soldiers of all ranks, jobs and differing aspirations for their Army careers. Twenty stories fill the book, each with one or two corresponding photos. Mock's own story concludes the book.

Mock said her second purpose in writing the book was to bridge the gap between the military and civilian worlds. "It is a way of intercultural communication, a way to express and clear
up misconceptions about the military life," Mock said. "It's also a way to let people know during this time of war what it's like to be a military wife."

Mock and her husband have been married three years and have a daughter, Ellie. Writing has always been a creative outlet for her Mock said, but this book carried particular meaning.
"On a very personal level this book has affected the Army wife who I am today," she said. "I carry a piece of them and their stories through every moment while I am away from my husband and raising our child in the absence of her father. They taught me so much of what it means to be an Army wife with grace."

The book is available online at www.amazon.com or
www.barnesandnoble.com, and Mock said the responses she has received so far have been very positive.

"The responses from both military and civilian readers are very similar, which exemplifies how this book is truly able to connect military and non-military," Mock said. For more information, visit www.janellemock.com. A portion of the book's proceeds are donated to the Fisher House Organization.

Apropos of discussions Representative Nancy Boyda and I have had, about the different sub-cultures of family types in the Army - I've commended this book to her and her staff.