Invisible Veterans

Book excerpt: Spotlights the challenges faced by our increasing cadre of military women when their service ends and they become civilians. Combining research with narrative, this book exposes common threads of lived experience and reviews the latest data on military women and their healthy reintegration into civilian society. Female veterans share their stories of seeking to be seen in a culture where they don't quite fit and their struggles to find community and friendship. Some fought during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, as the first women in combat in American history. How and where, for example, does a female combat Marine find her tribe once she leaves the service? Through the stories of these courageous yet entirely human women, readers learn about the experiences of a new and often forgotten generation of veterans; about the challenges surrounding family and career choices that millions of American women face; and ultimately, about sacrifice, resiliency, loss, and love. This book will inform readers with an interest in female veterans and women's health and mental health issues, as well as researchers, students, and professionals working in fields encompassing women's psychology, health, and social work.