No Life Like It: Military Wives in Canada - Softcover

Harrison, Deborah; Laliberte, Lucie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1550284460 ISBN 13: 9781550284461

Publisher: Lorimer, 1994

Synopsis

Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. No Life Like It
2. Absences
3. The Gulf War
4. Postings
5. Missed Opportunities
6. Cover Ups
7. Endings
8. Resistance
Notes
References
Index

About this title

About the Author

DEBORAH HARRISON is Professor of Sociology and past Director of the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research at the University of New Brunswick. She has published work on a number of aspects of Canadian society, including her co-authored book, No Life Like It: Military Wives in Canada (Lorimer, 1994). She is a member of the Canadian Forces Advisory Council to Veterans Affairs Canada.

Review

"No Life Like It provides a fresh look at the power structure in the Forces, where and how wives fit in or don't and how the smooth operation of the military depends on the efforts of military wives." (Malcolm Dunlop Mail Star)

"...fascinating for the glimpses it provides into the lives of military lives... fascinating study of life in the military, particularly its effects on the families of military men.

No Life Like It ... is an impressive piece of research and analysis which merits attention from both scholarly and general readers." (Jane Gordon Atlantis)

"The work gives the reader an intimate look at the lives of Canadian military wives. It's an eye-opener... the authors make some valid points that this reviewer never thought of during my short tenure as a married soldier. Their research was extensive and the interviews of some wives are moving." (Ron Steele London Free Press)

"... an important book examining the "human costs" of military life... Harrison and Laliberte have given these women a voice as they struggle." (Gail Paton Grant Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology)

"No Life Like It provides extensive documentation of the power of one institution to draw upon and even coerce the unpaid labor of women. It contributes to the growing body of literature that calls attention to the unpaid and often invisible work that women do inside and outside the home, and provides a detailed sense of how particular institutions shape that work in dramatic ways. One cannot leave this book without a greater appreciation for the power of the military institution and the role that women's unpaid labor pays in maintaining that institution.
...
Even with the limitations of the book, this examination of wives' work provides insights into the contradictions inherant to that institution as well as the centrality of that work to the maintenance of that institution. In addressing these issues, this book will be useful for those interested in unpaid work, as well as anyone interested in the military or other total institutions." (Eliza Pavalko Contemporary Sociology)

"No Life Like It makes a significant contribution to Sociology and Women's Studies in giving voice to those who have been largely voiceless in one of the largest and most powerful institutions in our society... its revelation of the 'invisible work that keeps social institutions going' is profoundly important for all women." (E. Jane Ursel Canadian Journal of Sociology)

Edition details

• Publisher: Lorimer
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 1550284460
• ISBN 13: 9781550284461
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 266