Surviving Deployment: A Guide for Military Families

By Karen M. Pavlicin

"...if you and your family are facing deployment, you MUST have this book." --NYPDWives.com

"... practical solutions to spouses, parents and children as they face their stressed lives during a deployment." -- Montana Parent

A personal guide for military families facing the challenge of deployment.

From the call to duty through heartwarming reunions, this comprehensive, personal guide helps US active duty, National Guard, and reserve military families turn a challenging deployment into a positive, rewarding experience.

Personal stories, practical ideas, and checklists help readers know what to expect, how to prepare, and how to personally grow as individuals and families. Survival gear ranges from a sturdy toilet plunger to the fine art of letter writing. You'll manage financial changes, help children express their feelings, and discover a renewed appreciation for everyday life.

Military Writers Society of America - Gold Medal for Best Reference and Guide Book

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0965748367
• ISBN13: 9780965748360
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Elva Resa
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Lots of helpful little tidbits

My husband is a Marine. He just got back from a long deployment. Before that, his deployments and trainings were shorter but it seemed like he was gone all the time. I'm not sure which was worse - saying goodbye all the time or just having him gone the whole time! One thing I liked about this book was the section on how to win cooperation from your kids and how to avoid child abuse. None of us thinks about this much because of course we would never want to hurt our kids. But deployments put a lot of pressure on a lot of single parents who are also under tremendous stress. After reading this book, we talked about the ideas and brainstormed more at our key volunteer meeting. My favorite is when the heat gets high in our house, we put on good music and dance! Another is when anyone (kids too!) feels like hitting, we hug something instead. Some stuffed animals got the stuffing hugged hard right out of them! Another idea I got from this book was to keep a journal of how I spend my time and when I or my kids get upset. It really helped me realize some of the routines we could adjust to make it easier for everyone. The book is full of little tidbits like this. I also liked that it walks you through different stages of feelings. It was nice to know that feeling guilty for being happy that he's gone is normal! I hate goodbyes and I'm always glad that part is over even though I hate for him to be gone. This is a big book that covers a lot of ground. One thing I wish it had more on is faith. It's obvious the author has a lot of faith - I would have loved some more ideas on how to keep the faith deployment after deployment. I think the worry just increases (are we pushing our luck with another one?). Some of the things here are common sense. But who has common sense when your partner is in a combat zone for a year? ;-) It's worth the money even if you only get a few reminders of what you know from previous deployments (at least it's all in one place organized for you!). Overall, I'm glad I read the book and I will still use a lot of the ideas when the deployments are over.

I like the balance of information and writing style

In the past few years, there have been several books published for military spouses and families. I've read a lot of them. Some don't have much information - just fluffy stuff. And some are not well written. This book is different. Surviving Deployment I like because 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. The author is a very good writer so the information and stories flow well. It's easy to pick up the book and use the information or just enjoy reading it. Another difference is that this book is what I would consider full-length - about 100 pages more than most of the other books. There are whole chapters on important deployment-focused topics like children, finances, communication, and reunion. I also like the two chapters with ideas specifically for spouses taking care of ourselves and using our survival gear. Overall, I think this is the best resource on deployments. This isn't the book you want if you're looking for a general overview of military life, but if you are in a deployment situation, this is definitely the book to get. I've been through three major deployments and I highly recommend this book.

Get it for your kids' sake! Great resource, dynamic speaker!

I recently attended a deployment/reunion workshop given by the author. She is a dynamic speaker, down-to-earth person, and has lots of experience to share. She has a great sense of humor and outlook on life. Everyone at the workshop received a book. I read it right away.I have four young kids. My husband has been deployed for a year and I sometimes lose my patience! I learned some great tips for "winning cooperation" and seeing things from my kids' perspective. (And yes, I realized a few things that are my fault that I've been blaming on my kids!) I highly recommend this book! And if you can, get the author to speak at your post/base. The workshop was a nice complement to the book. She made it very relevant to our battalion's situation. I was feeling down when I went in and I came out feeling inspired and ready to handle the last stretch of deployment. It was nice to see the author's sense of humor and examples continued in the book. I think my kids are very happy I attended and read this book! Get it for yourself and your kids will benefit too!

Awesome! - Like Talking to a Great Friend

A friend gave me this book because my husband is deployed and she thought it had great advice and checklists in it. While it does have all that great info in it, what I love best is all the personal stories. The author does a great job of weaving in how other people have handled certain situations. Whenever I looked up something in the book, I found myself sitting down and reading it for a while because it was so interesting - like talking to a good friend who understands just how I feel. It's so interesting to read other people's experience during deployments, how they found out about it, how they handled their kids' emotions, etc. I laughed and cried because it is like reading about myself! I got so many ideas. Awesome.