Be Safe, Love Mom: A Military Mom's Stories of Courage, Comfort, and Surviving Life on the Home Front

by Elaine Lowry Brye Narrated by Susan Boyce

Overview

When you enlist in the United States military, you don't just sign yourself up for years of duty-you also commit your loved ones to a life of service all their own.

No one knows this better than Elaine Brye, an army brat turned military wife turned military mom of four officers, each serving in a different branch of the military: Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy.

Brye's father and mother met while both serving in the US Army, and her childhood was that of a typical army brat, with frequent moves-some to faraway countries-dinner-table conversations full of military lingo, an ever-present anxiety during her father's deployments to Vietnam and elsewhere, and family vacations to national monuments and battlefields. In 1976-the first year women were accepted in the service academies and ROTC-Brye herself enlisted in the Air Force, where she would later meet her husband, an Air Force pilot.

Now Elaine Brye is a mom to four military officers, and for more than a decade she's endured countless teary goodbyes, sparse communication from boot camps and training summers, deployments, emotional airport reunions, empty chairs at Thanksgiving dinners, and sleepless hours waiting for phone calls in the night. She's navigated the complicated tangle of emotions-pride, worry, fear, hope, and deep, enduring love-that accompanies life as a military mom.

In Be Safe, Love Mom Brye reflects on her family's military service and offers a lifetime's worth of insight, comfort, wisdom, and a bit of humor to fellow military moms who are navigating the unpredictable life that accompanies having a child-or children-in uniform.

In intimate and instructive essays-on topics ranging from that first goodbye on induction day to the comforting power of the military community, from the healing power of faith to coping with the enormous sacrifice military life requires-Brye braids together her own personal experiences with those of fellow parents she's met along the way, offering gentle guidance and hard-earned wisdom to those new to the sisterhood of military moms.

In this one mom doing her best to hold down the home front, readers will find a wise and endearing friend to guide them through the unpredictable life of having a child in uniform, all the while reminding us that within each military mom's personal story lies universal experiences of courage, loss, loneliness, faith, pride, and ultimately, a parent's unconditional love.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

01/05/2015
In her debut, Brye offers an invaluable handbook for parents of U.S. military service members. An Army brat, Air Force wife, ROTC candidate, and mother of four military officers—one each in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines—she draws her advice from hard-won experience. Brye explains everything, including why the rigors of boot camp are essential and how normal it is for parents to feel emotionally overwhelmed after a child’s deployment. Most comfortingly, she states that military parents are all in it together: members of the military and their families are, well, family, across all branches of service. Her best advice for both parents and service members is to remain “Semper Gumby”—that is, always flexible. Having Christmas in August? No problem. Parental stress, volunteering to help other military families, and the role of spiritual faith are also discussed. Brye doesn’t shrink from the hardest topics, including traumatic brain injuries, PTSD, and, most unthinkably, casualty calls. For nonmilitary families, her work is a powerful reminder of the sacrifices made by those who serve and by their loved ones. For military families, Brye’s book will comfort and inform. (Mar.)

From the Publisher

An invaluable guide for parents and family of U.S. military service members, Be Safe, Love Mom offers both comfort and invaluable, hard-won advice from a woman who knows all about the emotional rigors of military life. Elaine Lowry Brye is herself an “Army brat” and Air Force wife, one who went on to become the mother of four military officers (one each in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines). Bryes' is a book meant to provide sympathy and practical support to families like hers by getting real about the overwhelming emotions involved in watching a loved one enter the armed forces, and serves as a reminder to all of the sacrifices made not just by our fighting men and women but by their families, as well.”—Archetypes.com

“This is the story for all families, as the nurturing love of a mom watches her children grow, while also learning when to let go. For a generation tempered by the horrors of September 11th, two wars and terrorism, Be Safe, Love Mom reminds us the sacrifice isn't just on the battlefield, but in our homes. Her poignant stories of courage will move you, the honor of these brave men and women in uniform will inspire you, and the book will reaffirm your faith in our country.” —Steve Scully, Senior Executive Producer & Political Editor, C-SPAN

“The military brat, spouse and veteran whose four children are officers has only heartfelt concern for ‘we mothers' and, presumably, fathers. Parents might appreciate reading her comforting momilies{yes, ‘momilies'}while ‘on this roller-coaster ride for which your child has volunteered you.'" —Military Times

“[An] invaluable handbook…For nonmilitary families, her work is a powerful reminder of the sacrifices made by those who serve and by their loved ones. For military families, Brye's book will comfort and inform.” —Publishers Weekly

“A simply written, very honest book about how parenting a child at war feels. Through author Brye's experiences and those of others who share their stories with her, one gains an understanding of the demands made on families, demands and sacrifices that don't make the national news until a flag-draped coffin is involved. Poignant sometimes to point of inducing tears, Be Safe, Love Mom is not easy reading. It may not even be possible to read at one setting, but it is one of those books that ought to be required reading for every citizen.” —New York Journal of Books

“A compassionate, insightful guide for military parents and the rest of us who are in their debt.”—Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Review

2015-01-14
The mother of four serving military officers pays tribute to the parents of children in active service, especially mothers, America's "unsung heroes."Brye, an advocate for military families who administers the Naval Academy's Parents Listserv and Facebook page, achieved national prominence when she was chosen to introduce Michelle Obama at the 2012 Democratic Convention. The author explains that despite her own Republican convictions, she appreciates the activities of both the first lady and Jill Biden on behalf of military families. "There is the bravery required to go out and fight the battles," writes Brye, "and there is the bravery to keep the home fires burning." Coming from a multigenerational military family—her parents served during World War II, her husband is a retired officer, and she has four children on active duty—she knows the terrain. Not only do parents need to endure the worry when their sons and daughters are on dangerous deployments and out of touch, mothers also face the trauma of severe disconnection, which begins when their children go through the toughening-up process of boot camp. The author writes of her own ordeal under such circumstances as akin to "swimming under water without an oxygen tank," and she describes overcoming fighting the urge to protect a child in the military as learning to "embrace the suck." At the same time, Brye advises mothers to cut themselves some slack, citing her own occasional meltdowns as something to be expected under stress. The author also touches on the special difficulties for women in the military, as they must demonstrate physical toughness, but not get too chummy with their male counterparts, in order to gain respect. A compassionate, insightful guide for military parents and the rest of us who are in their debt.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169690873
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	03/31/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos