Overview-
"...a dramatic, sobering account of prejudice and the mistreatment of women in combat zones." - Publishers Weekly
Not even old enough to drink, Corporal Savannah Cannon is a young enlisted United States Marine deployed to support Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2010. As a tactical data networking specialist, she is sent away from everyone she knows and attached to a Regimental Combat Team where women are not allowed to repair communications. Her experiences over the next few months shed light on the unique and difficult positions women are placed in when supporting combat roles, while offering a raw look at the painful choices women must sometimes make.
Cannon finds herself in a combat zone, ostracized from family, friends, and even her fellow Marines as the men are told to avoid her. The connections she makes are born from trauma and desperation and the choices she makes will echo throughout many lives.
Corporal Cannon is not the story of a heroine; it is the hard-hitting account of just one of the flawed individuals who make up the United States’ fighting forces. Mistakes in the battlefield can have dire consequences, personally and professionally. Reflecting on her time in service, the author weaves a story of past and present, and the healing that can come with admitting our mistakes and moving past them.
About The Author-
REVIEWS-
"For those readers who have never experienced war firsthand, Cannon’s memoir is a visceral account; its value to those audiences lies in listening to her voice, rather than making moral judgments about her choices. The author does not claim to represent all women in the U.S. military, or to represent all experiences of the war in Afghanistan; instead, she offers her tale as an individual story of pain, bitterness, regret, and finally some acceptance. Highly recommended for all public libraries."
"Cannon holds nothing back in this raw, gut-wrenching account of her stint in the Marine Corps...she eventually finds a way to healing, through painful, detailed recountings, which are searing and sometimes overwhelming to take in. It’s a dramatic, sobering account of prejudice and the mistreatment of women in combat zones."
"Cannon's writing is a therapeutic cleansing of a pivotal and emotionally scarring period in her life, and her important book is honest, poignant, and courageous."
"This is an eye-opening and enlightening memoir. More than just a rebuke of those in power, it’s a story of a terribly young female at war, doing the best she can to survive...This book sheds light on the human cost of war as well as the effects of victimization within a system through which one hopes to be protected."
"A simply riveting and impressively candid military memoir from cover to cover."