In her new book, author Helen Thorpe tells the tales of three female National Guard members, who served in Afghanistan and Iraq. Thorpe traces their stories: from their expectations joining the Guard before 9/11, to their experiences going off to war, and then troubles on the home front.
GUEST:
- Helen Thorpe - journalist and author from Denver, CO. Her most recent book is "Soldier Girls: The Battles of Three Women at Home and at War."
LINKS:
- NPR interview with Helen Thorpe about the book: "Each of them struggled, even after their first deployment, coming back from Afghanistan, which in hindsight they view as the easier of the two deployments."
- Washington Post review: '“Soldier Girls” raises important questions about how men and women serve together and the differences in how they experience war, enabling us to see the subtle challenges female soldiers face — the hardships that don’t make easy headlines.'
- Christian Science Monitor interview: "Many of the soldiers in their National Guard unit found the experience of enduring multiple yearlong deployments – while simultaneously trying to maintain their civilian lives back home – to be extremely stressful. It seems understandable to me that some chose to rely upon alcohol, prescription."