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When a loved one is deployed, waiting out the days until they return can be difficult for a host of reasons. I am an avid reader myself so I love to spend read to help pass the time but it is also a great emotional outlet.

When you feel like everyone is judging you or no one in your life can understand you, a book can help you understand and work through your emotions.

Here are five books (and reviews) recommended by those who’ve experienced the left-behind side of deployment.

Love You More Than You Know, Janie Reinart and Mary Anne Mayer

This book compiles the experiences and reflections of 45 mothers who sent their children to war.

• “All of the stories were wonderful and being an Army Wife, I still took plenty away from each. There are stories that make you shed tears and moments that will leave you almost breathless.” Jessica from Sugar in My Grits
• “…it was a book I allowed to become part of me. Each experience was so real that it brought me to tears as I related to it as a military mom.” Kathy Guzzo

E-mail to the Front: One Wife’s Correspondence with Her Husband Overseas, Alesia Holliday

This book follows an email dialogue between a woman and her husband during his deployment.

• “I bought this book during my husband’s first deployment to keep me company on the nights when I couldn’t sleep… SO many things I found myself laughing out loud about because they were so true. Other times I would tear up at because I knew how she felt.” D. pate
• “As an Army wife, I absolutely adored this book. It’s the first book I’ve read written about military spouses that isn’t full of bitterness or rank envy.” Anonymous

Going Overboard: The Misadventures of a Military Wife, Sarah Smiley

This is an open, honest account of a young woman not ready to be as independent as a military spouse is often called to be.

• “I recommend this to anyone trying to make it through a military deployment while wrestling with the negative emotions and loneliness… I am currently at home while my husband is deployed for the second time…” kenio&ashmont

Surviving Deployment: A Guide for Military Families, Karen M. Pavlicin

This book is full of ideas to get you through deployment challenges.

• “…it has a good balance between well-researched information, practical checklists, and real life examples. The personal examples/stories are selective and weaved into the information so the information is more true to life.” Harriet Plank “Harri”

While They’re at War: The True Story of American Families on the Homefront, Kristin Henderson

This follows three spouses as they deal with deployment.

• “Only 1% of our nation knows what it’s like to send the people they love into war. Kristin Henderson makes this point… Whether you’re for the war or against it – it is necessary to support the military families and spouses.” WriterGirl

Photo thanks to  ChuckThePhotographer via Flickr Creative Commons

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