Spouse Calls: Messages from a Military Life (Paperback or Softback)

In Spouse Calls: Messages From a Military Life, Stars and Stripes columnist Terri Barnes bridges generations with a "best of" collection sure to touch the hearts and homes of every reader.
From her own kitchen table to Capitol Hill,  Terri takes readers beyond the headlines and homecoming videos for an inside look at the day-to-day hardships, victories, and many ways military life shapes, challenges, and enriches its families.
As a journalist, Terri reports and reflects on a wide range of topics, including motherhood, faith, friendship, family ties, war, current events, sacrifice, PTSD, and more. As a wife and mom, Terri highlights important, pivotal moments in the lives of her own family and others in essays that will resonate with both military and nonmilitary families.
Through poignant personal stories, incisive interviews, and emotive reflections, Terri's military life columns create an historical snapshot of American and world affairs, preserving an important piece of our nation's culture.
About her book, Terri says, "My hometown isn't a geographical location, but a place in American culture that is invisible to many people. My family lives in the hometown of military installations and military communities. This book is the story of the people we know and the life we live in the neighborhood of our American military life."
"Terri Barnes is a voice for military families, reminding us all that they are still serving around the world. Listen in, and you'll hear the pride she takes in her husband's service and her own, and the joy she finds in encouraging her fellow spouses. You'll also gain an understanding of what binds military families together and keeps them marching forward."

--Lee Woodruff, NYT best-selling co-author of  In an Instant and co-founder of the Bob Woodruff Foundation


Terri's Stars and Stripes column on which the book is based was also recognized by The National Society of Newspaper Columnists, earning second place in the nation for the best general interest column in a newspaper under 50,000 circulation. NSNC judges commended her for writing "with insight and remarkable sensitivity," calling her columns "masterful" and "powerful."
 
Awards for Spouse Calls
Midwest Book Awards - First Place, Current Events
Foreword Reviews INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards - Finalist
Military Writers Society of America - Silver Medal, Memoir

TERRI BARNES is the author of Spouse Calls: Messages From a Military Life, the editor and coauthor of Stories Around the Table: Laughter, Wisdom, and Strength in Military Life, and the special projects editor at Elva Resa Publishing.

A well-respected journalist, Terri developed and wrote the weekly Stars and Stripes column Spouse Calls. Appearing in print editions worldwide and online for more than eight years, the column was honored in 2015 by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, winning second place nationally. Her book Spouse Calls is a select compilation of those columns.

Terri continues to be a voice for military spouses and families. She has been a member of the Washington, DC, press corps and has contributed to several other books.

Terri  is a cum laude graduate of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where she studied journalism. Her work has appeared in Air Force/Army/Navy Times, The Huffington Post, and Books Make a Difference magazine, as well as newspapers, magazines, and base publications in many of her adopted hometowns around the world.

Terri’s expertise in military life comes from long experience. Her father was a Vietnam veteran and career military man. Her husband, Mark, retired from the Air Force after thirty years of active duty service. Terri and Mark now reside in Summerville, South Carolina. They have three adult children.