Soldier Girls

The Battles of Three Women at Home and at War

By: Helen Thorpe

Narrated by: Donna Postel

Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Soldier Girls follows the lives of three women on their paths to the military. These women, who are quite different in every way, become friends, and we watch their interaction and also what happens when they are separated. We see their families, their lovers, their spouses, their children. We see them work extremely hard, deal with the attentions of men on base and in war zones, and struggle to stay connected to their families back home. We see some of them drink too much, have illicit affairs, and react to the deaths of fellow soldiers. And we see what happens to one of them when the truck she is driving hits an explosive in the road, blowing it up. She survives, but her life may never be the same again.

©2014 Helen Thrope (P)2014 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Critic reviews

".... a solid chunk of American history...." - ( The New York Times Book Review)

Starred review. ".... this visceral narrative illuminates the role of women in the military...." ( Publishers Weekly)

"With a novelist's perception of character, drama, and telling detail, Helen Thorpe magically weaves together the stories of three very different but equally compelling women soldiers. Taken together, their stories provide an intimate window on life in the military, the impact of war, and the difficult transition to home. This is an absolutely terrific and important work." (Doris Kearns Goodwin)

Conference of Women

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend it. It has a good story with soul and the narrator did a decent job.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Soldier Girls?

When the 2nd tour came up and they had to go again, separated.

If you could give Soldier Girls a new subtitle, what would it be?

Conference of Women

Any additional comments?

I didn't love the ending. I wish it would have been deeper, more girth, more something. It just ended with so many lose ends. Characters were forgotten about and since it is based on real life...it leaves you hanging.

Interesting and informative

I’m really glad I listened to this book in order to learn more about what it’s like for women who went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq. At first the style of reading was irritating, but after a while it didn’t bother me. I’ve now read all of Thorpe’s books and I recommend all of them. She does an excellent job of making her topics interesting and informative. Her characters are likable and I kept wanting to hear more to know what happens to them.

Amazing stories of three veterans

I could not stop listening, was drawn into these women's lives and stories. Several veterans in my family, and I'm very interested in speaking to them about their experiences. Wonderful narrator, she did an excellent job portraying the individual women and their stories. Absolutely recommend.

Should be taught in school -missing a positive eye

Would you listen to Soldier Girls again? Why?

Yes: The details regarding "home-rules" vs. "Home-rules" is something we all need to look closer at. The way friendships are formed left me feeling like i have been along them myself. The different political standpoints where also very interresting. I am so happy i bought this book, i could not stop listening.

What did you like best about this story?

The honesty and the facts that you feel that you have gotten to know some amazing people

Which character – as performed by Donna Postel – was your favorite?

They are all important because this is a memoair. But i do think Michelle mention Ani de franco once. You can never avoid digging another Ani fan.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

"From home to chaos"

An opening of ones eyes

Learned so much about just how hard it was for women in the military. Never realized just how many people where effected, that part time soldier's where sent - let alone more then once. The story is not a thriller, keep you at the edge of your seat, but was still very enjoyable and you wanted to know what happened to these amazing women. No problems getting through it, it kept you engaged.

Timely

The war affected many- don't ever forget their stories!! Well told, well read. Worth your time!

Soldier Girls

I retired with 40 years and 2 deployments so this book and the differences in the three females was something I could relate to. Excellent unfolding of the different soldiers lives and how they each dealt with their personal challenges and their deployment challenges.

Slow Start, but worth finishing

As a veteran and former National Guardsman I could relate to a lot of this book except from a male perspective. Every time I read a story on the experiences of our veterans from the "war on terror" and the aftermath, I come away more angry than I was during the conflict when it was obvious that Mr's Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld were lying to us.

I'll never forget The comments made by Rumsfeld when asked by a guardsman why they has to scrounge in junk yards for armor plates for their HMMWV's and Rumsfeld's answer was 'son, you go to war with the army you have not the army you want'. These guys decided when to go to war, they could have gone with the army they wanted but tried to do this on the cheap.

This book makes the statement that these wars were fought with personnel from an economic draft. It is a very powerful insight. They took kids and single mothers and grandparents who signed up to help in local disasters for college or extra spending money and used them to enrich the industrial war machine that our leaders or their relatives ans friends and donors were all receiving the benefits from. The volunteers were used as cannon fodder while the leadership lied to us. Then they reneged on this nations promise to take care of those who sacrificed for our freedoms (or their lies).

Getting through the setup / build development of the 3 main female characters is cumbersome, but the emotional toll finishing the book takes is a credit to the job the author did in crafting this story. Well done! ...and thank you to all those citizen soldiers who got dragged through this mess buy the war mongers and profiteers.

A GOOD & SOLID TRUE STORY

It took me awhile to get into the book but it was worth the journey. I didn't care for some of the language. Donna Postel was a great reader and the book is good. The insight into the war in Afganistan was very interesting. And it sounded crazy that they are sending 50 year olds to war. When I was in the marines 30 years ago, The top age was 28.

Compelling and honest.

Any additional comments?

I feel as though this book is a necessary read for civilians who have family and friends serving in the military. The honest accounts of the experiences of these three women isn't fluff. It is important for people to know soldiers as humans and the effect their service has on their lives. Their reasons for enlisting, their personal relationships, their work in the forces. I'm really glad I purchased this audiobook.