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Army wife authors book ‘From Pebble to Rock’

Oct-18-2004 » Filed Under: Homefront

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By Staff Sgt. Russell Bassett

FORT EUSTIS, Va. (Army News Service, Oct. 15, 2004) -- The wife of a Fort Eustis Soldier has decided to tell a side of war that doesn’t receive much publicity: the story of mothers and wives left behind when their sons and husbands deploy.

Patti Correa, spouse of Sgt. 1st Class Edward Correa, truck master with the 155th Transportation Company at Fort Eustis, has written a book, “From a Pebble to a Rock,” in which she tells the true-life stories of wives and mothers forced to deal with life without their husbands and sons when they deploy.

“Usually we just hear the story about the Soldiers,” said Correa, whose book was released by Xulon Press this month. “The Soldiers’ story is important, but we need to tell the story of the wives and mothers on the home front.”

Correa, who has been married to a Soldier for 17 years, is no stranger to separation. Her husband deployed in the first Gulf war, to Korea and – most recently – to Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Writing “From a Pebble to a Rock,” was “therapy” for Correa, she said. She started writing the book while her husband was deployed, and by sharing her story and the story of other family members who have dealt with separation due to a deployment, she was able to successfully cope with the rigors of being a military spouse.

“You have to keep the home front going,” said the first-time author. “That is the whole purpose of this book, to encourage spouses and mothers and help them deal with deployments.”

The 80-page book begins and ends with Correa’s story and tells how she was able to go from a “pebble” to a “rock” as a military spouse.

“When we are newly married to a military member, we are rough and grainy like a pebble,” she explained. “Over time we become the rock, the firm foundation of the family, the support and refuge.”

The other chapters of the book tell the stories of other military wives and mothers. The book spans several generations and wars.

The family member’s experiences may have occurred during different periods in America’s history, but the common thread of dealing with separation and raising a family alone transcend any one time period.

“The stories span 60 years; different wars and times,” said Lyna Tucker, Correa’s friend and editor. “But essentially it is all the same – what the women had to deal with and the long waits they went through.”

Even though the book was designed with women in mind, Correa’s husband says the book is valuable reading for anyone involved with the military or interested in what life is like for the people who are left behind.

“This book gives you a different perspective on the unique strengths of women everywhere, from all walks of life,” he said. “They didn’t choose to be in that position, but they gathered that inner strength and got through the hard portions of their life.”

Correa, who has a 17-year-old child with her Soldier-husband, said despite the hardships, she is proud to be a military spouse.

“I am so happy to be a military wife,” she said. “I am proud to be able to stand next to and support my husband. I am glad to be there for him and my country.”

Tucker said that Correa is a credit to military wives everywhere.

“Patti is a good role model for a lot of women,” said Tucker, whose husband is also assigned to the 155th. “She always thinks of someone else. She is generous, wonderful, bright and very patriotic. She is very supportive of her husband and the military.”

Sgt. 1st Class Correa said he couldn’t do it without his wife.

“She is a devoted mother, wife and employee,” he said.

The author maintains that “From a Pebble to a Rock,” will not be her last book. She plans to write a similar book in the next year, one that includes stories of military children who are faced with watching their fathers deploy to war.


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