Intro to Army Life

About the Book:
Intro to Army Life
Intro to Army Life: A Handbook for Spouses and Significant Others Entering the Army Lifestyle was created to encourage, educate and inspire those entering the army culture. No one hands you a guidebook when you enter Army life; you either have to learn the hard way or stumble upon resources on your own…until now. Intro to Army Life gives you the tools and resources necessary to make your transition into the Army lifestyle easier, less stressful and more fun. You don’t have to learn the hard way—all the information you need is here, ready to help you make the transition. Along with engaging personal narrative and stories, Intro to Army Life includes:
• Army hierarchy and social structure• 15 tips for dealing with a deployment• Perks of a military ID• Top 25 Army acronyms• Military discounts and how to find them• Top 10 resources for military children• Fun facts, such as where the term “military brat” originated• …and much more!

Intro to Army Life is an excellent resource for the individual reader or for companies promoting educational resources for the U.S. Army.

Category: Resourse, Military Life, guidebook
Page Count: 176 pages
Publisher: Aloha Publishing
Price: $ 10.95 soft cover, $ 2.99 e-book


About the Author:
Allison Mewes became an army spouse one week before her husband left for a three week Annual Training and then deployed for a year to the Middle East. While he was away, she wrote this book. Her experiences as a newlywed entering the army lifestyle, along with the humorous things that happened along the way, inspired her to help other military spouses and significant others make the transition into army life.
She owns Blue Bamboo Project Services and works as a project manager/event coordinator. Allison and her husband live in Boise, Idaho.

My Review:
I was given this book via Media Guests to review, I was not paid for my review and these are my own words.

I am an Army Wife of 32 years, a dependent daughter of an Army Warrant Officer for my whole life. So between the two I have had 50 years of experience with the military lifestyle. My father and husband are now retired; so I was anxious to read this book so that I could see what Mrs Mewes had to say. I consider myself a seasoned Army wife, and looked at the book with a critical eye.
What I found was a wonderful resource for any company commanders wife to pass out to newly married solders or families that are new to the military lifestyle. When my husband was a company commander 20 years ago in Hawaii, we had so many new wives that were on the island, I wish I had then this resource to help explain what these women should expect.
This book is written in gender neutral, for our "be all you can be Army", which is pretty awesome. However, my husband was an Army Ranger Infantry Officer and there were not any women that worked with him. That is why I refer to my desire for resources for the wives, because I never had to deal with male spouses.
This book was full of information that was easily accessible from other places, rank charts, uniform pictures, chain of command, and branches of the service among other things; however, this book is wonderful because it has everything compiled into one place. Mrs Mewes also gave a list of the top 25 acronyms, I tested myself before I looked at the answers, even after 12 years retired I still remember what these mean. Overall, this is a book filled with information for military families to use as a resource. I honestly believe that every company commanders wife should have a stack of Intro to Army Life ready to pass out. I would even venture to say that every ROTC across the US should have this books handy for the girlfriends/wives to either purchase or hand to them to learn.

I agree that being a military spouse or significant other is not for the faint of heart, there is a huge responsibility today, with soldier being placed in harms way, the spouses are expected to take on a greater responsibility.

This book/resource will help one navigate the experience and enhance the experience just because knowledge is power. I enjoyed reading this book, there is humor throughout. I supposed just little phrases that I had remembered from our military days, like "suck it up", "if the army wanted you to have a wife they would issue you one"and of course my favorite because my soldier said it more than I ever thought humanly possible Hooah!
I recommend this book with a 5 star rating!
Sandie

The Lover and The Madman: Memoirs of Joe K.

About the Book:
Touched by the light in his eyes, the spirit in his heart, and the inspiration of his words, Joe K will take you on an unforgettable adventure. You will laugh when you want to cry, love when you want to hate, and keep going when you want to quit. In time your life is different for knowing him and you don’t even know why.
The Lover and The Madman, is a book of self-discovery and philanthropy, of sexual awakening and globe-trotting. It’s the story of a man who has touched and helped so many, and here he has shared it with us, another gift.

About the Author:
Joe K. shows what beauty there is in loss and what victory there is in surrender. Through his personal experiences Joe shares a peaceful message of faith, hope, and recovery in the twelve steps.
From his idyllic childhood in the ranching and mining towns of the Pacific North West, Joe’s life takes him to the glittering nightclubs of the 1960′s where his career as a performer brought his great success, and where his very personal journey began. From gutters and flophouses of San Francisco to the luxury resorts of South America, Africa, Europe and Asia, Joe shares his exciting journey to spiritual and personal awakening and finding self-acceptance and love.
Today Joe is retired and makes his home in Boise, Idaho where he spends his time with his 2 dogs, large family, and many wonderful friends

My Review:

The Memoirs of Joe K is a book full of life. From the first page to the last, this book is filled with stories about the life that Joe lived. I love to hear about people and know them, this book is full of description. One thing that I can say is that Joe lived life to the fullest.

This was a good read; however, if you are a person that does not enjoy reading something in journal form, then this is not the book for you. If you enjoy being uplifted, reading about the adventures in the life of one person then this is absolutely the book for you. If you read this story with an open heart, you will come out a better person than you started!

I was given a free copy of this book from Media Guest this was for my honest review and I was not paid for a positive review.

Sandie

Sasha, Extraordinary Dachshund

About the Author:
CJ Adams wrote this memoir to let all animal guardians know there are many healing options available for their treasured pets. During her research she began the process of healing from the loss of Sasha and now begins a search for her next little friend. CJ is honored by those that honor Sasha’s memory by reading their story. CJ is happily married to Mel, and lives in Boise, Idaho.

About the Book:

CJ Adams pens a warm and entertaining tale of life with an exceptional dachshund. A friendship that endured paralysis and a cure through acupuncture and holistic medicine. You will enjoy every page of this heartwarming journey through the lives of the very precocious Sasha; the devoted, but not too smart Miniature Pinscher/Chihuahua mix, Squirt; the enduring pack-leader and CJ's husband, Mel; and CJ, the woman who loves them all with every fiber of her being. All animal lovers understand that each pet that comes into our lives is special but that sometimes you are blessed with an extraordinary animal. For CJ that was Sasha. This memoir is about a cycle of life involving family, friends, paralysis, other pets, aging and loss. When faced with the possibility of euthanizing a 4-year-old Sasha, a desperate CJ turns to holistic veterinary medicine and acupuncture to save her Extraordinary Dachshund and learns how to use this "alternative medicine" to complement traditional veterinary medicine. Be prepared to laugh out loud, wonder and learn something new. ENJOY!!

My Review:

I found the story of Sasha, Extraordinary Dachshund to be a fun, happy read. My family had a cute little black dachshund growing up so I knew how lovable these sweet dogs can be. This story did not disappoint as it brought back so many memories of my own dog.

Ms. Adams has an incredible love for dogs and the book talked about all the dogs she has had over the years. However, Sasha was interesting in that she didn't like go to out on the rain and snow, which my dog did not like to do it either. I loved how Sasha had such a warm relationship with her veterinarian Dr. Dawn.

This story is about all the good times with Sasha, and what her life was like in her later years. This is a heart warming story of ones love for an dog that is not only a dog, but a family member. If you love animals, love good stories, love to laugh and enjoy this book. I recommend the book and hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

Ms. Adams has a way of telling a story that makes you want to be the owner of Sasha. These personal stories allows the reader to take a glimpse into the lives of one family and how extraordinary life can be with a pet like Sasha.

Sandie