The following is a short list of books (in alphabetical order by title) that I read while I wrote this novella. Wherever possible, I tried to find additional articles and other online resources about female Marines, the Female Empowerment Teams, post-traumatic stress, opioid addiction, and how to qualify for a private investigator’s license.
Ashley’s War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon (Harper 2015).
Beyond the Call: Three Women on the Front Lines in Afghanistan by Eileen Rivers (Da Capo Press 2018).
The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq by Helen Benedict (Beacon Press 2009).
Sand Queen by Helen Benedict (Soho Press 2011).
Shoot Like a Girl: One Woman’s Dramatic Fight in Afghanistan and on the Home Front by Mary Jennings Hegar (New American Library 2017).
I also tried as hard as possible to connect with members of the armed services (Marines and otherwise), to get feedback on what I’ve written.
If you notice inaccuracies, whether about female Marines or other errors, including any typos that slipped past me and my editors, feel free to contact me at debbi@debbimack.com. I truly appreciate hearing your thoughts about my writing, and I do my best to make the reading experience as authentic as possible.
Thanks for your interest in my work.