Jen McDonald’s book Milspouse Matters is a lovely collection of stories—stories of love, of adventure, difficult times, friendships, and retirement. Some of the stories sound so familiar because they ARE familiar. The names of the locations and wars might change, but the feelings of the spouses at home are the same. The universality of these stories among the military community is evident on each page.

When McDonald’s book begins with the often-heard and seldom-liked statement “You knew what you signed up for,” I will be honest: I bristled. My story is like many: I married a man who was in one job, and he decided to transition to military life later on. Many others knew they were marrying into the service, and even they could not possibly have known what it’s like being married to a military member. It’s different for everyone, and yet as I stated before, there is a sense of community and universality of story.

This book is much different than I expected it to be, and I am so grateful. I will be recommending it to everyone I know who is married to a military servicemember: active duty, reserve, Guard, or even retired. It’s important for us to listen to (or read) each other’s stories, support each other, and of course, love each other.

No one outside a military community can understand the life we live. We were active duty for 21 years and even retired, the connection is strong. The "service" speaks a different language and follows a different set of rules. Family mores are upside down, traditional values and identities can change within each family. Each installation is different so a PCS, permenant change of station, requires adjustments too. Children learn at a young age that their homes, schools, classmates, even their teachers all have a common thread of support and legacy. Jen McDonald has done an excellent job of giving a limited education and sharing a few of the challenges in this one of a kind lifestyle. She should get more than 5 stars, she's earned a few stripes too.

Highly recommend this book to any and all military spouses! I am a military spouse and having lived in Guam and soon to be moving to South Korea, I found this book so relatable and helpful. McDonald talks about her numerous moves across the country and around the world. She talks about her time in Guam and Germany. She also interviews military widows, which I found amazing. Getting to hear their perspective of life as a military wife during the Vietnam war. Being separated for years, with little to no communication is unfathomable to me. One of my favorite quotes in the book is "You're stronger than you think." Most military spouses don't realize how tough this life will be when they marry their partner (McDonald talks about this in her book). You realize very quickly that you are in fact stronger than you think.

I am not a spouse or a service member or even know anyone who is, in fact I live in Australia but this book sounded fascinating when I read the synopsis.

An informative look into the life of a service member and their spouse or family member. Great book.

I'm not the spouse of a servicemember, but I am the son of one. This was an excellent book that should be read by anyone who is service-connected or will be. Read and learn.