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A Novel
by Kelli Estes
"Today We Go Home shines an illuminating light on history and the female soldiers who have served this country from the Civil War to Afghanistan today. Kelli Estes passionately brings the past to life, interweaving the story of two women from different centuries whose journey towards hope is timeless. " - Gwendolyn Womack, USA Today bestselling author of The Fortune Teller and The Time Collector
Seattle, Washington
Larkin Bennett has always known her place, whether it's surrounded by her loving family in the lush greenery of the Pacific Northwest or conducting a dusty patrol in Afghanistan. But all of that changed the day tragedy struck her unit and took away everything she held dear. Soon after, Larkin discovers an unexpected treasure―the diary of Emily Wilson, a young woman who disguised herself as a man to fight for the Union in the Civil War. As Larkin struggles to heal, she finds herself drawn deeply into Emily's life and the secrets she kept.
Indiana, 1861
The only thing more dangerous to Emily Wilson than a rebel soldier is the risk of her own comrades in the Union Army discovering her secret. But in the minds of her fellow soldiers, if it dresses like a man, swears like a man, and shoots like a man, it must be a man. As the war marches on and takes its terrible toll, Emily begins to question everything she thought she was fighting for.
Paperback original
You can see the full discussion in our legacy forum here. This discussion will contain spoilers!
Some of the recent comments posted about Today We Go Home:
Are there similar practices to the bacha posh in your culture? Why is the practice accepted in some cultures and not in others? Is it different if the decision is that of the child rather than the parents?
For anyone interested in The Underground Girls of Kabul - more information at
[link]https://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/3123/the-underground-girls-of-kabul[/link]
and in our 2015 discussion of the book:
[link]https://www.... - davinamw
Did any of the information about black men serving in the Union army surprise you?
There is a very good book out recently about a black woman masquerading as a soldier in a black unit during the Civil War, called Daughter of a daughter of a Queen, by Sarah Bird. It is fiction, but based on fact, so it really sets the stage for ... - kkb
Did any of these women's experiences surprise you? If you are a woman with military experience, or have a family member who is in the military, have you (or they) experienced or witnessed challenges, prejudices or abuses?
I have a son in the military, and when he got deployed, we met some of the soldiers he worked with, and a large number of them were women. I plan on talking to him about how he felt the women were treated both stateside and abroad. I was surprised ... - kkb
Do you have personal experience with PTSD (yourself or a loved one)?
Read about it, heard about it, seen it....have not experienced it directly. The real emotional toll of war. Can try to understand it. Goes all the way back to all wars, different names, but only recognized and named PTSD fairly recently. Now studied ... - joang
Had you heard about women disguising themselves as men to fight in the Civil War? Do you know of any real-life examples?
My awareness has has been awakened. Listening to Archie Fisher he started singing Jackaro. A song about a woman who dressed as a man to fight in a war with her beau. Ok maybe that is where the romantic idea shows up. A different question. This ... - tracyb
"Two women, separated by a century and a half, survive life in the United States military in Estes' suspenseful, neatly structured second novel...brings the Civil War era to life and effectively links it to contemporary times." - Kirkus Reviews
"Pairing the dual narratives of Larkin and Emily, Estes relates the hardships faced by women who serve in the military...Based on the real-life stories of women who served, this is an excellent read and highly recommended." - Booklist
"Illuminating, sympathetic and deeply human, Today We Go Home shines a much-needed light on the brave, bold women of all eras whose military service puts even more than their lives on the line." - Greer Macallister, author of Woman 99 and The Magician's Lie
This information about Today We Go Home was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Chad Estes
Kelli Estes lived in the deserts of eastern Washington state and Arizona before settling in the Seattle area, which she loves so much she plans to forever live near the water. She's passionate about stories that help us see how the past shaped who we are today, and is still very relevant, and how we all have more in common than not. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family. Her first novel, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk, was a USA Today bestseller. Today We Go Home is her second novel.
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