Synopsis: "When 45-year-old Ellen Michaels loses her husband to a tragic military accident, she is left in a world of gray. For 25 years her life has been dictated by the ubiquitous They—the military establishment that has included her like chattel with John’s worldly goods—his Dependents, Furniture, and Effects. They—who have stolen her hopes, her dreams and her innocence, and now in mere months will take away the roof over her head. Ellen is left with nothing to hold on to but memories and guilt and an awful secret that has held her in its grip since she was 19. John’s untimely death takes away her anchor, and now, without the military, there is no one to tell her where to go, what to do— no one to dictate who she is. Dependent deals with issues ever-present in today’s service families—early marriage, frequent long absences, the culture of rank, and posttraumatic stress, as well as harassment and abuse of power by higher-ranking officials. It presents a raw and realistic view of life for the lives of the invisible support behind the uniform."
My Review: This was such an emotionally difficult, yet beautiful book to read. I spent so much of the time reading this book in tears, angry or feeling like I was alone. Kudos to Dunne for allowing me to feel those emotions right along with Ellen. There is definitely a tribute to the support behind our military men and women, while all families might not suffer quite as much as Ellen did, there is still that struggle to put on the all is good voice so that the military members don't worry and can focus on the job at hand while away from home. While it was a struggle to follow Ellen through her loss, it was great to see her start to blossom with the support of her children and friends and find the strength she had all along but felt she had lost.
My Review: This was such an emotionally difficult, yet beautiful book to read. I spent so much of the time reading this book in tears, angry or feeling like I was alone. Kudos to Dunne for allowing me to feel those emotions right along with Ellen. There is definitely a tribute to the support behind our military men and women, while all families might not suffer quite as much as Ellen did, there is still that struggle to put on the all is good voice so that the military members don't worry and can focus on the job at hand while away from home. While it was a struggle to follow Ellen through her loss, it was great to see her start to blossom with the support of her children and friends and find the strength she had all along but felt she had lost.
My Rating: Even with all the emotional turmoil this book caused me I can't help but love it. I give it a rating of Four Paws!
Dependent was sent to me by the author's publicist for an honest review.
You can find out more about Brenda Corey Dunne and her work on her Goodreads Page.
Dependent has not yet been published but is set for release on July 29th, 2014. You can preorder your print copy on Amazon or Barnes and Noble
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