Romance author military vet counters media stereotypes
For the last Wednesday of May, HEA welcomes Kim Lowe of the SOS Aloha blog to help us honor our military and their families during National Military Appreciation Month. Kim has joined us every Wednesday this month to share with us the thoughts of authors who have military connections. Today, she features military vet Jessica Scott, who wants readers to know military vets are just like you and me. (Previous posts were about romance author military veterans, military "brats" and military spouses.) Thanks, Kim, for such wonderful tributes to our troops and their families this month!
Kim: I spent Memorial Day lunching with a fellow romance reader who happens to be a talented Navy surgeon. We chatted that it is easier to "brag" about each other's accomplishments than our own. We agreed to brag often about the other so we recognize our own contribution to our community.
Today I conclude our salute to military families with a "brag" about Jessica Scott. She wears many hats — Army officer, Army wife, Army mom and romance writer (It's Always Been You). She takes on her fair share, as described by former U.S. secretary of Labor Robert Reich, "True patriotism isn't cheap. It's about taking on a fair share of the burden of keeping America going."
When I called for blurbs for this series, Jessica responded with a short essay that speaks volumes for veterans. Here's what she has to say:
Jessica: As many of you might have heard, Fox canceled Enlisted, the comedy show about a rear detachment unit back home in the States dealing with, what else, soldier high jinks. There was a lot to love about that show, but the thing I enjoyed the most about it was its departure from the damaged veteran stereotype.
One of the things that I wrestle with as a soldier and as a writer is how to portray the complicated lives of my brothers and sisters when we come home. My return home was not easy. To say that the deployment broke me is a copout and an excuse and it's dishonest. The deployment changed me in a lot of ways and I needed to adjust. I needed help to adjust, but nearly four years after coming home, that adjustment period is a distant memory. But there is a running mantra in the media and in a lot of people's minds that soldiers who come home from war are all one argument away from getting a gun and losing their minds.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Do some soldiers have trouble coming home? Yes, absolutely. But we're not some strangers from a strange land. We're your neighbor, we're your officemate. We're your teachers and we're your fire fighters. We're the same people we were before the war — we're just a little different than we were, just like anyone who has gone through a challenging experience. Some of us need a little more help than others.
So when people ask me what they can do to help veterans? Give us a job. Treat us like anyone else: people with the skills, dedication and capability to get things done and get them done right.
As I struggle with what to put on the page, I know that stories like Enlisted need to be told: the stories of the laughs and the camaraderie, the stories of a veteran who's having some challenges but still shows up every day. Those are the stories I tell and they're important — because we're not all broken and battle-scarred.
We're just like you. We just wear different clothes to work every day.
Kim Lowe is an Air Force veteran, Air Force spouse and romance book blogger at SOS Aloha. You can reach her at sos.aloha@yahoo.com.