The Girls Come Marching Home: Stories of Women Warriors Returning from the War in Iraq

The Girls Come Marching Home follows the experiences of women veterans as they transition back to civilian life after serving in Iraq. Through interviews and firsthand accounts, author Kirsten Holmstedt documents the stories of female service members from different military branches and roles. These veterans face challenges including physical recovery from combat injuries, mental health struggles, and readjustment to family relationships. The book tracks their journeys through medical treatment, career changes, and the complex process of finding their place in society as combat veterans. The narratives span multiple years post-deployment, showing both immediate and long-term impacts of military service. Holmstedt presents these accounts through detailed reporting and extensive conversations with the veterans and their families. This work illuminates the distinct experiences of female veterans while highlighting universal themes of sacrifice, resilience, and the true cost of war. The book stands as an important contribution to the military literature, expanding the understanding of women's roles in modern combat.

Readers value this book for documenting female veterans' post-war challenges through personal stories. Many note it fills a gap in veterans' literature by focusing on women's experiences. Readers appreciated: - First-hand accounts from diverse military roles - Coverage of PTSD, relationships, and reintegration - Balanced portrayal of both struggles and triumphs - Clear writing style that lets stories speak for themselves Common criticisms: - Some stories feel incomplete or end abruptly - Limited geographic scope of interviewed veterans - Uneven depth between different accounts Ratings: Goodreads: 3.8/5 (47 ratings) Amazon: 4.4/5 (26 reviews) One veteran reviewer wrote: "Finally someone tells our side of coming home." Another noted: "The stories are raw and real, but I wished for more follow-up on what happened to these women years later." The book has found particular resonance among female veterans and military families seeking representation in post-war literature.

Band of Sisters by Kirsten Holmstedt Women Marines tell their combat stories from deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, offering raw accounts of their experiences during and after service.

Love My Rifle More than You by Kayla Williams A former Army Arabic linguist documents her deployment to Iraq and the complex reality of being a woman soldier in a combat zone.

Rule Number Two by Heidi Squier Kraft A Navy clinical psychologist recounts treating combat trauma in Iraq while managing her own separation from her young children.

Shoot Like a Girl by Mary Jennings Hegar An Air National Guard pilot shares her journey through military service, including her lawsuit that helped overturn the Combat Exclusion Policy.

Ashley's War by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon The story of the Cultural Support Teams program follows female soldiers who served alongside Special Operations forces in Afghanistan.

📚 The author, Kirsten Holmstedt, spent three years interviewing women veterans and traveling across the country to document their experiences firsthand 🎖️ This book is a follow-up to Holmstedt's earlier work "Band of Sisters," which focused on women serving in combat zones in Iraq 💪 The book highlights how female veterans faced unique challenges upon returning home, including higher rates of homelessness and less access to gender-specific healthcare services compared to male veterans 🏥 Several women featured in the book suffered from Military Sexual Trauma (MST), a condition that affected an estimated one in four women serving in the military during this period 👊 One of the servicewomen profiled, Sergeant Patty Hester, survived a massive truck bombing in Mosul that killed 22 people, making her story one of the most dramatic accounts of female survival in modern warfare