About the Book
". . . a captivating read that serves as a reminder of what has changed and what hasn't for women in the military." -Daria Sommers, Writer/Filmmaker, Lioness
" . . . a page-turner that kept me hooked from the beginning." -Daniella Mestyanek Young, author, Uncultured
"Whether readers are officers, enlisted, or civilians, this is a nuanced, realistic narrative guaranteed to generate leadership insights, ethics discussions, and professional empathy." -Randy Brown, author, Twelve O'clock Haiku: Leadership Lessons from Old War Movies & New Poems
Can you really fake it till you make it? Lieutenant Minerva Mills is about to find out.
It's 1995 and the Army units of Fort Stewart, Georgia, are gearing up to deploy to Bosnia. But Min has no intention of going to war-torn Eastern Europe. Her father disappeared in Vietnam and-longing for some connection to him-she's determined to go on a long-promised tour to Asia. The colonel will only release her on two conditions: she ensures the rag-tag Headquarters Company is ready for the peacekeeping mission and she gets her weight within Army regs.
Min only has one summer to kick everyone's butts into shape, but the harder she plays Army, the more the soldiers-and her body-rebel. If she can't even get the other women on her side, much less lose those eight lousy pounds, she'll never have another chance to stand where her father once stood in Vietnam. The colonel may sweep her along to Bosnia or throw her out of the Army altogether. Or Min may be forced to conclude that no amount of faking it will ever be enough to make it and, as was true for her father, the Army is an impossible space for her to occupy.
About the Author :
Nancy Stroer holds degrees from Cornell and Boston University, and served as an Army maintenance officer in the beer-soaked trenches of post-Cold War Germany. Her work has appeared in Stars and Stripes, Soldiers magazine, Hallaren Lit Mag, the Wrath-Bearing Tree, and Things We Carry Still, an anthology of military writing from Middle West Press.In addition to writing, Nancy is a teacher and trainer and an adjunct faculty member of the Ellyn Satter Institute, a 503(c) not-for-profit organization that helps individuals and families develop a more joyful relationship to food and their bodies. Playing Army is her first novel.
Review :
"A deeply affecting, nuanced portrait of one woman's struggle to find herself while serving in the US Army of 1995. Stroer deftly turns the Army's aspirational 'be all you can be' tagline on its head with a feisty protagonist who sometimes awkwardly and often courageously confronts issues of sexism, racism, and leadership shortcomings as well as the painful legacy of Vietnam. Playing Army is a captivating read that serves as a reminder of what has changed and what hasn't for women in the military." -Daria Sommers, writer/filmmaker, Lioness
"Playing Army is a page-turner that kept me hooked from the beginning, while doing a phenomenal job of putting the reader into the story so that they can experience what it is like to be a woman in the military-the pride, and the never ending, ever-present challenges. It's not easy to describe the world of the military while also making it accessible to those who have not served. Nancy has done a phenomenal job here. Understanding my service and everything it meant to be a woman in uniform is something I am still working on, and Playing Army helped me find an extra piece of the puzzle. As someone who's written a military memoir, I can say that this book has an immediate place in the canon of works by military women." -Daniella Mestyanek Young, author, Uncultured
"Battling self-doubt, self-sabotage, prickly soldiers and staff officers, and a minefield of battalion politics, US Army Lieutenant Minerva Mills takes command of an "ash-and-trash" headquarters company preparing for a possible deployment to 1990s Southeastern Europe. Whether readers are officers, enlisted, or civilians, this is a nuanced, realistic narrative guaranteed to generate leadership insights, ethics discussions, and professional empathy. Promote this book ahead of more-familiar peers, such as Anton Myrer's Once an Eagle and James McDonough's Platoon Leader! -Randy Brown, author, Twelve O'clock Haiku: Leadership Lessons from Old War Movies & New Poems
"In Playing Army, Nancy Stroer has given us a new kind of heroine in Lieutenant Min Mills. At once both awkward and strong, Min fights for her place among her peers in the US Army and becomes the leader her ragtag bunch of soldiers need. While privately battling unresolved grief, maternal neglect, and a past that won't seem to rest, Min still finds a way to shine. A powerful and moving story." -Carrie Talick, author, Beware the Mermaids
"There are moments of exquisite prose, punchy one-liners, and a real sense that Lt. Minerva Mills is on an emotional rollercoaster that doesn't have any brakes. The complex negotiations of adult female friendships are played out against a complicated childhood and the tensions of life as a woman in a man's army. This is juxtaposed with the heart-stopping moments of being a soldier in a world always at war. Every soldier has a part to play, and lives on the edge of tragedy no matter how ordinary their job may seem. Stroer captures this beautifully, leaving us in no doubt the price soldiers pay for our freedom." -Bev Morris, military history researcher and author, An Average Pilot
