The Wives is an inside look at the dynamics of the marriage a young woman whose husband serves in the military. Ms. Gorrindo shares her fears and feelings during her husband’s frequent deployments to the war zone, the loneliness and fear for her husband’s safety, the friendship and support she receives from the other wives and the joyous reunions with their men returning from the war.

Having been a military wife during war time, I found Ms. Gorrindo’s story compelling.

Thank you NetGalley and Simone Gorrindo for the chance to read and review this book.
I went into this book totally blind and was happily surprised to find it was about Simone’s life as an Army wife. I can totally relate as I am an Air Force wife (retired) and the mom of 2 sons currently serving in the Army. She speaks my language.
As the story opens we find Simone and husband Andrew in Columbus Ga standing outside their first house together. Andrew is fresh out of basic training and AIT (technical school for his job) starting their new life at Fort Benning. Andrew is part of an elite, rapidly deployable combat unit, and Simone (left her job in New York City as an editor) is currently unemployed. But this is a new adventure for them both.
Quickly Andrew assimilates into his new unit and they are invited to many unit activities including barbecue’s designed to foster the brotherhood. Simone is not welcomed with open arms but start to make
friends with the other wives, slowly. As the first deployment approaches she starts to see a shift in Andrew’s demeanor as he focuses on the mission. Sadly it affects their relationship as well and over time she learns that there are 2 Andrews, the one at home and the one on mission.
Deployment is another adventure. Infrequent communication makes it imperative that Simone leans on her fellow wives as she grows closer to them, they’ve become sisters. Learning this new life and learning to live with uncertainty every day, dreading that phone call or seeing a government vehicle parked in front of your house is always a worry. But these women had lives before they were wives and moms and this is how they all weave together to get through.
This story is a gritty portrayal of one woman’s big life change and how she learned to adapt to it. It’s not all pretty and definitely not easy but she made it her own and at time of printing, was still living it.
Simone was me, (except for the fact that I married a man who was already in the military.) Every unit activity, ball, deployment, home coming, and change of station I lived and relate to. I hope that in reading Simone’s story you’ll get just a glimpse of the military life.
I rate this a 4 star read

Compelling portrait of American life.

I think for many people, the work and worry of war is hidden during these wars that drag on for years and years. I have really appreciated the work of Karl Marlantes and Sebastian Junger, writing about what war is like for soldiers and how we do (or more often, do not) reintegrate them into daily life. Gorrindo references these books, and her memoir would be an excellent companion piece.

Gorrindo's own ambivalence about Army life, combined with her willingness to be "a joiner" and natural curiosity about people, allows for nuance. No one is all good or all bad. I really appreciated that.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.

I absolutely DEVOURED this book on a single plane ride. As engaging as a Desperate Housewives novel, with the stomach-clenching realities of life in a never-ending country at war, this is one of the best books I have read in 2024, and without a doubt the most honest memoir of someone living as an armed-forces spouse I have EVER read.
Part of me wants to give this to all my friends who are living the military spouse life, but I think this book is so well done that it might induce a rash of breakups and I can't be responsible for that lol.

The Wives: A Memoir
By: Simone Gorrindo
4🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸


I could really relate to this memoir. I was an army brat and army officers wife and some of the things Simone went through was relatable.
🇺🇸
Simone and Andrew meet and he wants to join the military. She is used to NYC and when they go to Georgia, they both have no idea what to expect. He gets deployed quickly and she bonds with one of the wives.
🇺🇸
The wives you meet become family. The military life is one that is not easy, but you realize you are not alone.
🇺🇸
On a personal note:
I remember forming an FRG ( Family Readiness Group) meeting which helps with families with meals, learning how to manage without their husbands and other personal stuff. During Desert Storm I realized how much any wives struggled with bills, children dealing with deployments and loss. I was used to moving every 2-3 years and have been all over the world. I loved the military life and thankful I had strong parents and have friends from all over.

Thank you Galley/Scout Press for this advanced copy. This memoir is out April 9.


Triggers: 9/11, war, depression, drug dependency

This memoir takes the reader into the lives of military wives and their families.

The loneliness, the lack of information,the constant fear, and the uncertainty of what their husbands will be like when they return from deployment is overwhelming.

Gorrindo survives these ordeals with the help of the other wives, but it amazes me that so many marriages lasted.

The Wives, by Simone Gorrindo

Thank you to Gallery/Scout Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

Simone Gorrindo’s eloquent memoir is an exploration of marriage under difficult circumstances, and the army wives who come to make up her world and broaden and deepen her perspective on others and herself.

Simone was a 28-year-old who had lived and worked in New York City for a decade. A writer and editor, she had her “dream job” when she left New York in 2012 to follow her husband, Andrew, to Columbus, Georgia, because he decided to enlist in the army. They had met in high school, and though they had not reconnected for some years after, their relationship seemed grounded in shared values and beliefs, and especially in communicating their thoughts, ideas, and feelings to each other.

His decision came as a shock to Simone. He had immersed himself in specialized martial arts training, but that seemed as much an intellectual as a physical discipline. Simone’s values and ethics were quite liberal, as her husband’s had been. But Andrew feels called to soldiering, to the extent that he says if he had to choose between Simone and the army, he would choose the army (words that would haunt them both).

Andrew also presents his enlistment in an elite special operations unit as a chance for Simone, too, to have a new start, a writer’s life. She does establish herself as a free-lance editor and writer, but at the cost of loneliness and anxiety. Andrew is deployed to Afghanistan for months at a time, and sent to lengthy trainings when not on deployment. Perhaps most difficult is the secrecy that surrounds his work. He can tell her very little of what he does, and learns to hold in his feelings and thoughts about it. This feels to her as a betrayal of their marriage.

Simone, college-educated and middle-class, has more in common with the officers’ wives, but because of the army’s rigid hierarchy, can not socialize with them. Instead she spends time with other enlisted men’s wives, most of whom are much younger than she, have no more than a high school education, and are raising young children in their husbands’ absences.

The book covers her experiences between 2012 and 2016. It involves much anxiety and depression, recovery from serious injuries in a car accident and finally, the happy end to a difficult pregnancy. Through it all she learns to admire, love, and depend on a group of women with whom she would never have spent time in other situations – among them evangelical Christians and right wing loyalists. Perhaps most of all, she learns to live with paradoxes in her ideas, feelings, and relationships, including her marriage.
This unusual look into the lives of military wives would make an excellent book club choice.

This is a story about military wives (Army to be precise). It was a fascinating read for me and brought back memories of my time as a military wife. I enjoyed reading a very different perspective of the experience. It really made me think about how our personal lens reminds me we can all be in the same room but still see everything differently.

There are many stories written about wars and military men and their experiences but this is not one of them. Simone Gorrindo had a career in New York City that did not prepare her for being married to Andrew whose dream is to be part of a Special Ops unit of the military. Simone shares her personal experiences of coping with the lifestyle changes, isolation from the outside world and friendships formed with other women in a community that their only common thread is being the spouse of a military service member. Lengthy deployments, little to no information and the challenges associated with being alone for long stretches of time, place multiple pressures on a marriage. These women are stronger than they ever imagined keeping it all together as they grow their families and fear the worst possible fate for the men they love. This ARC was provided by the Gallery/Scout Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley, Scout Press, and Simon and Schuster for this ARC. As an Army wife, it was interesting to see the life through the authors eyes. She spoke from the heart and I could feel her emotions coming through. Is don't typically read memoirs, this one was well done.

The Wives: A Memoir. I've read some accounts of men serving in Afghanistan. Those who served in WWII. But never anything that really expresses what "the wives" feel and go through being the backbone of the family left behind to take care of the family and home. Wow. This book provides a huge appreciation for the wives of military men who serve and are deployed.

It really seems like there must be a better process to communicate information to the wives than the "code red" messages. The women are under a lot of stress and pressure already; then they find out that ... basically ... something bad happened, but you'll have to use your network to find out what.

Simone had a NY career and fell in love with Andrew who wanted to serve in Special Operations. So she uprooted and moved to Georgia at 28 years old.

My husband is retired military, but I met him after he retired from the military.

Simone Gorrindo did a fantastic job writing The Wives! Many thanks to NetGalley (for yet once again) introducing me to a new-to-me author. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Inc for approving my request to read the Advance Read Copy of The Wives in exchange for an honest review. Approx 416 pages. Release date is March 2024.

Thank you to NetGalley for this advance reader copy
"The Wives" is a memoir that delves into the author's journey as she navigates the challenges of being an army wife in a foreign town after leaving her New York City life behind. With her husband frequently deployed, Simone finds solace and camaraderie among a group of fellow army wives, offering readers an intimate portrayal of friendship, and marriage.

As many have said, the life of an army wife is never easy. It doesn't come with instructions, and the only help these women got was from other army wives going through the same thing.

Ms.. Gorrindo gives us a personal and inside look at what the wives of soldiers have to deal with daily. It's important to understand that most of the support soldiers get is from their wives and families. Simone Corrindo tells this story very well.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read an early copy of The Wives by Simone Gorrindo in exchange for my honest review.


This is the kind of book that makes a person appreciate what soldiers and their families have to sacrifice to choose this line of work. Simone had a successful career in NYC and her boyfriend Andrew had a longtime dream to join the military. After some time Simone agrees to go with Andrew while he pursues this endeavor.


I am not from a military family nor do I personally know anyone actively serving so this lifestyle is completely unknown to me. I had my own preconceived notions, but this book brought up a lot of things I never considered. I never thought about how isolating this must be for the spouses who go to live on a base. It’s interesting to attempt to find community among people where the only thing you have in common is being a military spouse. It brought up some conversations about how the people you have to choose from to interact with might have vastly different worldviews than you, such as a more conservative vs liberal viewpoint.


I find it hard to rate nonfiction/memoirs because it feels like I’m rating the entertainment value of someone's life story. At the same time, I understand that this is a business that needs reviews to help readers know if a book is right for them. This book did take me a long time to get into. A lot of the beginning felt like info-dumping. Some plot points that were brought up and could’ve used more in-depth discussion but that’s me being nitpicky. Otherwise, the story was heartfelt and eye-opening and I’d probably give it 3.5 stars and round up to 4.

This was such an eye opener. Who knew what goes on behind the scenes at the training camps and what anxiety and mental agony the wives go through. It was a well written and thoughtful book and something everyone should read. After all these are the people who keep us and our country safe, including the wives who,most importantly, and under all conditions,support their husbands.

Having been a military wife, although not in an active war time, I found this book hard to read. That being said, we Americans owe a debt of gratitude to those who serve to preserve our freedom and also to their families.

An eye opening look at the life of an army wife.The author shares in an intimate open conversation her real life experiences.She shares her marriage her adjusting to the life of an army wife the friendship and bonds she forms.I have no experience with the army and I really enjoyed learning about their lives.#netgalley #The Wives

The Wives by Simone Gorrindo gives a behind the scenes look at the personal lives of military families. Simone and her boyfriend Andrew are 20somethings living in NYC. Andrew shares his dream to join the military and his intention to enlist and move south whether Simone is onboard or not. Simone has to decide whether her love for Andrew is enough to sustain her as she navigates a whole new way of life.

I thought the author beautifully captured the complexities of military life. She was very honest in her retelling, including really hard and emotionally fraught conversations she had with her husband. I don't think this book would have been as enjoyable or informative had this not been the case. There were certainly times that I was on Simone's "side", but there were just as many instances when I was on Andrew's "side". To me, this speaks to Simone as a good writer and her ability to show all parts of the story, not just hers.

That said, the title and description imply the book is about specific women that become friends. We definitely got to know other spouses and their stories, and we saw how Simone integrated herself into the community, but overall the book felt less about this group of military spouses and more about Simone and her experience. There were actually only 5 or so spouses introduced in detail, and many were not friends.

Some of the most impactful parts of the book were Simone's reckoning with conservative culture stereotypes and the ethics of war. I wish this book was marketed more as a liberal woman's experience as a military spouse and what that meant for her identity and beliefs without reducing the experience to simply being a wife.

It took me a little bit to get into this book, however once I was in I was hooked. Simone is an incredible writer. The questions she's grappling with as she lives as an army wife are some of the same I grapple with around war and the military. Her first hand perspective helped me understand my own beliefs better. I very much appreciated her conversations about the caste system in the lives of military spouses, how spouses are kept informed of actions in active battle zones, and how grueling the life is for both the spouse in the military and their civilian spouse. An excellent book for anyone interested in the lives of the military or simply someone wanting to read excellent writing.

An honest, at times gut-wrenching story that exposes the hidden struggles of military families. Be prepared for a life experience you never dreamed of (unless you are military).