Description

What compels someone to serve - and what endures when the uniform comes off?

This book brings together the voices of those
who have served in the armed forces, and their whanau, from across Aotearoa New
Zealand. They are mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters,
cousins, partners, friends – the kid from down the road who were here one day
and gone the next. Those who signed up to serve in the Army, Navy and Air
Force, donned the uniform, and gave themselves over to something larger than themselves.

In their own words, these now-veterans
share why they joined, how service shaped them, and what it meant – and cost –
to leave. They speak of camaraderie, pride and purpose; of the raw aliveness of
theatre and the bonds forged in the barracks and in the field. But they also speak
of sacrifice, loss and the often-invisible burdens carried home – the financial
hardship, the post-traumatic stress, the mental health struggles, the grief and
the long search for a new purpose, identity and place within a civilian world.

Alongside them are the whanau who were also
deeply affected – both when their loved ones were away and through the slow
work of beginning again.

These honest and moving accounts offer rare
insight into what military life demands and what transition takes. At its
heart, this is a book about courage in all its forms – the courage to serve,
the courage to step away, and the courage to begin again.