Spotlights the challenges faced by our increasing cadre of military women when their service ends and they become civilians.Combining research with narrative, this book exposes common threads of lived experience and reviews the latest data on military women and their healthy reintegration into civilian society. Female veterans share their stories of seeking to be seen in a culture where they don't quite fit and their struggles to find community and friendship. Some fought during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, as the first women in combat in American history. How and where, for example, does a female combat Marine find her tribe once she leaves the service? Through the stories of these courageous yet entirely human women, readers learn about the experiences of a new and often forgotten generation of veterans; about the challenges surrounding family and career choices that millions of American women face; and ultimately, about sacrifice, resiliency, loss, and love. This book will inform readers with an interest in female veterans and women's health and mental health issues, as well as researchers, students, and professionals working in fields encompassing women's psychology, health, and social work.

PrefaceKate Hendricks Thomas and Kyleanne HunterForewordCarrie Ann AlfordPart I Issues Facing Women VeteransChapter 1 No One Understands Us: Mapping Experiences of Women in the U.S. MilitaryAndrea N. GoldsteinChapter 2 Listening for HomeTeresa FazioChapter 3 Health Issues Facing Women VeteransKayla M. WilliamsChapter 4 A Holistic Look at Women Veterans and EmploymentNancy A. GlowackiChapter 5 Leaning In and Getting SeenErika CashinChapter 6 Belonging and Support for ServicewomenKate Hendricks Thomas, Ellen Haring, Justin T. McDaniel, Kari L. Fletcher, David L. Albright, and Elizabeth BrandleyChapter 7 Finding My Voice as a Female VeteranAntonieta RicoPart II Populations of Women VeteransChapter 8 Across the Eras: Experiences of Older Women VeteransKari L. Fletcher and Cathleen A. LewandowskiChapter 9 Taking a KneeRLynn JohnsonChapter 10 Queering the Warrior Archetype: LGBTQ ServicewomenHeliana Ramirez and Katharine BloeserChapter 11 Beyond Invisible: Justice-Involved Women VeteransMariana Grohowski and Patricia Y. JonesChapter 12 Military Sexual Trauma Survivors in TransitionScott JensenChapter 13 SurvivingSarah Plummer TaylorPart III Becoming Visible as a Woman VeteranChapter 14 [Re]Negotiating Citizenship through Military ServiceRebecca H. BestChapter 15 A Tale of Two TransitionsLydia DaveyChapter 16 The Power of Mentoring for Women VeteransDavid SmithChapter 17 The Way Forward: Successful Outreach to Women VeteransMary Beth Bruggeman and Gina RosenAbout the Editors and ContributorsIndex