Praise for Homefront 911
"The 99 percent of Americans who have viewed the past decade's wars from the home front salute the other 1 percent as heroes during parades or at football games. But America has barely begun to recognize the short- and long-term burdens it has place on the tiny minority of its citizens who have fought, sacrificed, and exposed themselves to peril in the country's name. Homefront 911 makes those sacrifices, and the bravery, unforgettably clear. Anyone for whom 'boots on the ground' has become an abstraction should read this book." —James Fallows, The Atlantic
" Homefront 911 is a powerful, tough-minded book, not for the faint of heart. For those willing to confront the true costs of American wars, it is also essential reading." —Andrew J. Bacevich, author of Breach of Trust: How Americans Failed Their Soldiers and Their Country
"This is not an easy book to read, nor should it be. It is a well-documented, well-written cri de coeur about the consequences of military deployment on soldiers and their families. . . . Highly recommended for readers of all types. — Library Journal , starred review
"A disturbing cry for help . . . Bannerman tells it like it is." — Kirkus Reviews
“Stacy’s bravery and honesty in sharing her experience as the spouse of an Iraq War veteran with PTSD and a TBI, and her extensive interviews and research on the high cost being paid by thousands of families caring for our newest generation of combat veterans, should be required reading for all who have the power to send US troops to war." —Belle Landau, executive director of Returning Veterans Project
" Homefront 911 is a stunningly comprehensive examination of what war does to the families of the warriors. Seamlessly weaving together firsthand accounts from military families, veterans' caregivers, and clinicians and emerging research in attachment theory, trauma, and epigenetics, threading it with her achingly personal narrative, Stacy Bannerman has created a defining work on the casualties of war at home. She challenges the definition and understanding of service-connected injuries and returning veteran violence, offering innovative solutions that span the spectrum from the personal to the political. This singular book is both a call to arms to help the families of veterans, and a call to this country's moral compass to end America's endless wars." —Thom Hartmann, Number 1 progressive radio talk show host in the United States and New York Times bestselling author
"In this stirring and heart-opening account, a warrior’s one-time spouse begs with searing, soaring eloquence that a nation and its people really hear the silent story of the families of those who have served our country in war—and recognize that those families, too, have been in the battle of their lives. You will not be able to read this book without being touched by the emotion with which it’s written, moved by the honesty with which it’s shared, and inspired by the call to action with which it’s pages blaze." —Neal Donald Walsch, New York Times bestselling author of the Conversations with God series
Praise for When the War Came Home
"For military families who have experienced the heartache, fear, pain, and anguish of having a loved one deployed to Iraq, Stacy Bannerman's compassion, anger, humor, and raw honesty will be immensely healing. For the rest of the nation, this is the book to read to understand and be able to reach out to those who have. When the War Came Home will help bridge the divide between those who have been touched so directly by this war and those whose experience of the war comes largely from the sanitized news media." —Nancy Lessin and Charley Richardson, cofounders, Military Families Speak Out
"Stacy Bannerman's story shines the harsh light of truth and reality on Bush's war—and quietly calls all of us to action to prevent more of these painful stories." —Jim Hightower, bestselling author of Thieves in High Places
"The power of this book lies in its intimacy: what it feels like to have your husband who you love go off to a war you don't believe in, to know he's fighting with inadequate equipment while captive to an indefinite stop-loss order, to speak out as a witness while hoping he comes home alive." —Paul Rogat Loeb, author of Soul of a Citizen
" When the War Came Home is an eloquently honest account of how the war changed the lives of Stacy Bannerman and her husband Lorin. Stacy forthrightly wrestles with her conscience and her deep devotion to her husband. This is a book of tears and grace." —Celeste Zappala, mother of Sgt. Sherwood Baker, the first Pennsylvania National Guardsman killed in Iraq, and cofounder of Gold Star Families Speak Out
"Stacy Bannerman's a national treasure. She speaks with wisdom, from the heart, and her considerable intelligence informs nearly every page. . . . Stacy brings it home, makes it real, all too real. Please read this book. It will change your life. It might just change the world. —Glenn W. Smith, author of The Politics of Defeat
★ 09/15/2015
"Military families have always borne the burden of the war at home, but never before have we been quite so alone for so long," writes Bannerman, an Oregon-based, nationally recognized advocate for military families. This is not an easy book to read, nor should it be. It is a well-documented, well-written cri de coeur about the consequences of military deployment on soldiers and their families. The list of statistically significant instances of spousal and child abuse; rise in suicide rates (among wives and children as well as veterans); increased alcoholism; and proliferation of cases of post-traumatic stress disorder speak to the agonies that war visits upon soldiers and their families. Bannerman goes a step further by describing, in harrowing detail, the horrors that ensue when a country fails to address these all-too real trends. Building on Bannerman's Homefront 911, a performance piece that was presented at the U.S. Capitol, this account courageously discusses "what was really going on behind closed doors, when the Welcome Home ceremony was over, and the Yellow Ribbons were back in the box." VERDICT Highly recommended for readers of all types.—Ellen Gilbert, Princeton, NJ
2015-07-07
"Attention must be paid" is the demand being made by a woman who knows from hard experience what it is like to be married to a combat veteran with PTSD. Bannerman (When the War Came Home: The Inside Story of Reservists and the Families They Leave Behind, 2006) tells it like it is: she survived her husband's attempt to strangle her, but many other service wives have not. Citing statistics, she points out that the rates of domestic abuse, murder, and suicide in veterans' families—and those include children as well as spouses—are far higher than among the general public. While her personal plight is central to the story, she also includes the stories of many other spouses of combat veterans with serious mental health problems, often from PTSD or from traumatic brain injuries. She backs up these sometimes rather long and repetitive narratives with hard studies and shocking statistics that reveal the extent of the problem. In one study, officials at the Pentagon found that cases of child neglect, abuse, sexual assault, and murder in service families increased by 40 percent from 2009 to 2012. Bannerman's own story, which includes drinking and drug abuse, reveals how unprepared and ill-equipped the Veterans Administration is to help PTSD veterans and their families, how slow governments have been to allocate resources to their care, and how unaware the public is of the magnitude of the problem. A "wish list" at the end of the book spells out measures that the author would like to see taken to ease the burdens of the families of returning combat veterans, whose wounds may or may not be visible. An activist, Bannerman has set up programs for women, drafted legislation, and testified before congressional committees. Here, she takes her message to a broader public in a disturbing cry for help.
