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How Do You Know You Are Ready For a Military Marriage?

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How Do You Know You Are Ready For a Military Marriage?

How Do You Know You Are Ready For a Military Marriage?

This weekend I saw an article about a young military spouse titled, “I Gave Up College to Get Married — Now I’m 19 and Divorced” This article was a story about a girl who married her boyfriend instead of going ahead to college, even though that seemed to be her plan. Her husband was stationed in California, middle of nowhere California and the challenges of that mixed with not being able to find work led to a divorce, just a few months later.

I really feel for this woman. I feel for her because it seems she made a mistake. She probably should not have gotten married. 18 is so young. So very young. College is a great idea for most people. If you have to choose between the two, what should you do?

Military life is also very difficult. Even more so when you are first starting out your lives together, when your spouse is not making a lot of money and you just are not sure what you are supposed to be doing while he is off doing his job. Add in a middle of nowhere base and you can find yourself feel pretty lonely. That mixed with feeling like you should have gone to college instead does not make for a happy home.

I know some of my readers are military girlfriends. They haven’t yet married their service member and they could be thinking about if they should. I was never a military girlfriend but before I married my husband I was involved in several long distance relationships. They were hard enough without the military so I can only imagine how difficult it is when you add the military in the mix.

How do you know you are ready for a military marriage?

  • Because you are ready for marriage and all that comes with it. You need to be ready for marriage. Marriage is a big step and changes things. You will no longer be on your own. You will have someone else that you will be a part of. You will need to share your things and your space and everything you have. You have someone else you will be making decisions with and someone else that will be affected but the decisions that you make. 
  • Because you are ready for military life and how difficult this life is going to be. Military life is probably going to be harder than anyone can prepare for. That being said, knowing what to expect can help. Knowing how military life can be difficult is also a good idea.
  • Because you have done everything you wanted to do before you got married. I knew I wanted to finish college before I got married. That was important to me. What is important to you? Do you want to be on your own for a while? Do you want to be at least 25 years old? I know sometimes meeting that special someone can change things but if waiting for something is important to you, try to do that.
  • Because you know that while this life is unique with its own challenges, all marriages take work. No matter who you are, your marriage is going to go through hard times. As a new military spouse, you might be presented with some of these hard times earlier than other spouses do. Knowing this going in will help you get through the more difficult days that are to come.

I know a lot of people who married very young and are still happily married. Some are military couples and some are not. I also know people that married young and did not make it. Some divorced early on, others, years later.

When it comes to marriage and if you should get married young to your military boyfriend, check your heart and your gut. Ask yourself if the military life is one you want to have. Although none of us can truly plan for this life and most of the time the military life is harder than we ever thought, going into a marriage not being open to the life isn’t a good idea.

Divorce happens. To a lot of people. For a lot of different reasons. Hardships in marriage happen and the military might just be yours. If you do decide to marry young and are put in a similar situation that the young wife I talked about above was, know that you can make it through that. There is a lot of military support out there, you can go to college online, you can figure out a way to support your military husband and make it through those difficult years.

Military life might not be for everyone, but if you want your marriage to work, if you are willing to commit yourself to your new marriage, you will be going into this new life with your eyes open. You have a good chance of making your military marriage work and creating a wonderful life with your service member.

 

20 Years of War

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20 years of war

The very last of American troops left Afghanistan yesterday. Just about two weeks before the 20th anniversary of 9/11. 20 years. Why can’t I wrap my mind around that?

20 years is a lifetime for some. 20 years ago, social media wasn’t something we knew anything about. 20 years ago, we had cell phones that made phone calls and that’s about it. 20 years ago, I was a college student, who has just met the love of my life, a veteran who had served in the Army in the 90s.

As the first troops left for Afghanistan, we, the American people had no idea what that would look like. We knew it had to be done. America was attacked. America was in pain. America was grieving.

As those first troops left for Afghanistan, did they know that the babies they left at home would be old enough to fight the same fight, years into the future? Did they know that this was just the beginning of a long time of war? A long time of wishing for peace and not finding it?

My husband has been deployed to Afghanistan twice. I have a video of my young son trying to pronounce where he was. That has been replaying in my brain a lot the last few weeks. Afghanistan, the place the soldiers go. Back then, it was a deployment. It was where he was sent. When the military calls, you go.

As we heard the news last week about the 13 members of the military who were lost in the last days of our time over there, I think back to the past 20 years and all we have lost.

We have lost so many men and women to this fight. So many families will never be together again. So many hurting people.

I wish we could wave a magic wand and never have to deploy any other troops. I wish that another military family would never have to experience that knock or even a call about an injured love one. I wish the terrorism and the hate would go away, and we could live our lives free of all of it.

But I know better. I know that will never be the case. I know that as long as my husband serves in the military, he could be deployed again. To somewhere else.

And America will always have our military. Ready to defend and support. Ready to deploy, to somewhere in the world.

None of us know what the future will bring. Ask the military spouse whose husband joined the military in 2000. They had no idea how things would change for them in the course of just a year or two.

Ask the military spouse who thought she was marrying a civilian. Who is now helping her spouse pack for their first deployment.

Ask the military spouse who assumed she would have her children and raise them down the street from grandma and grandpa, who is now raising them in Japan, or Germany, or in a US city far from home.

When our service member joins the military, or when we marry them, joining them in their military world, we have to understand that they have a sense of duty. And that can be such a hard thing to come to terms with.

They have a duty to go and to serve, or they never would have enlisted in the first place. They have a duty to go, even when we need them back at home. They have a duty to America that sometimes has to come first.

We have to stand by them as they go places we might not think they should go. We have to have their back when they come home and have a hard time processing everything. We are the ones holding everything together as they make their way through the ranks, fighting for our freedom in different types of ways.

After so many years of being a military wife, I can’t imagine what our life would be like without the military in it. The military has formed who we have become as a couple, and as a family. The military has determined what my husband would be around for and what he would miss.

As I watch the children of some of the soldiers I know put on the uniform too, I pray that their time in service is a bit easier. I pray that they will get more breaks to be with family and that the road isn’t so hard. I pray that we have learned from the last 20 years, and know when we are pushing these young men and women too hard.

20 years of war is a heavy thing to come to terms with. 20 years is a long time. Our world has changed so much in that time, for the good and for the bad.

20 years of sending our men and women in uniform.

20 years of wondering if our spouse will be home.

20 years of wondering when they will have to go back again after this deployment is over.

20 years of sending a soldier back overseas after just two weeks at home with his family.

20 years of really hoping that we have done what we could to help stop the spread of terrorism in our world.

20 years of children missing a mom or dad.

20 years of homecomings with welcome home hugs, and kisses, and proposals.

20 years of war.

What will the next 20 years look like?

When Your Spouse Wants to Join the Military, But You Are Not So Sure

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So your spouse is thinking of joining the military?

When Your Spouse Wants to Join the Military, But You Are Not So Sure

When I married my husband, the Army was a part of his past. He had served in the military when he was younger, and that was before my time. He had stories and photos, and that was about it. We were married as civilians and started our life together.

But the funny thing about life is you never know where you might end up. You never know where the road might take you. And even though I married my husband not thinking about being a military spouse, a few years later, that’s exactly what I became.

After being married for over three years, my husband re-joined the Army, and we became a military family. Everything seemed to change when that happened. Everything about our future, our children and future children, and how our life would play out changed.

Now, some military spouses marry their service member after they have already joined the military. Some get married right when they joined. But there are many of us who were with their service member before they decided to join.

You may be in a place where your spouse or partner is thinking about joining the military. And this is making you a bit nervous. They want to join the military but you are not totally sure. The military is a whole new world and you could be having a few reservations about the decision to join.

This is totally normal. Joining the military can lead to some major changes in your life. When your spouse signs up for the military, you might have to move far away, you might have to find a new job, and your life might feel like it has been turned upside down.

The truth is, if you are already together before the military, you both need to be a part of the decision to join. You need to have discussions about what joining will mean, and how life might have to change. Because, yes, life is going to change.

Here are a few things you can do if your spouse has decided they want to join the military or if they are starting to ask questions about the process:

Ask your questions

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. You might have some fears or worries about what military life will be like, and it is best to seek out answers. The more you know about what you are getting into, the better.

Have some serious discussions about what your spouse has in mind when they join the military. Will this be a big career change or something they want to try for a few years? Sometimes, they might not even know but feel they need to at least try it to find out.

Remember, everyone’s military life looks different

Before my husband joined the military, I thought I had an idea of what our years as a military family would look like. But I never could have predicted the reality.

You can talk to other military spouses about their experiences to get an idea of what to expect, but keep in mind that your reality might be different. Even the amount of times your spouse will be deployed during a given amount of time can be all over the place based on what is going on in the world, your spouse’s job in the military, and where they are stationed.

You are stronger than you think

One of the biggest lessons I have learned as a military spouse of almost 16 years is that I am much stronger than I think I am. When this whole journey started, I didn’t think I could ever be a solo parent. I found the idea impossible.

But I realized quickly that what once has seemed impossible was actually possible. Is it always easy? No, solo parenting is very challenging and some days, it does feel impossible. But us military spouses get through those times. We have to.

So while you might fear that you are not capable of this, you might actually be able to get through the challenging parts of military life. We rarely feel we can conquer the mountains of military life, but we do.

Plan to make friends

If your spouse does go on to join the military, plan to make friends. You will need them. These other spouses who get how a deployment might go, or what moving every three years is really like.

As you join the military community you will be able to find mentors and other seasoned spouses who have been there. You will be able to connect with others and find your own “battle buddies.” You will make memories with these other military spouses, and they will become the best part of your military life.

Take it all day by day

In many parts of military life, you will have to take things day by day. This starts from day one when they leave for basic training.

There is so much to this life, and so many changes, that each day can be different from the next.

Try not to sweat all the small things, and look forward to the future. There are so many amazing parts to being a military spouse. Military life is truly the good mixed with the bad.

If your spouse wants to join the military, take this request seriously. Talk things over, and see if this is something you can support your spouse on.

Each family is different, and joining the military might not be the best choice for every family. But if you and your spouse decide that joining is the right choice, know you have a big community of other military spouses out there to help you through. You got this!

7 Shows to Binge Watch When You Are Stuck at Home

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Shows to Binge Watch When You Are Stuck at Home

I love to binge watch shows. I started doing this during our first deployment. Back then I didn’t have Netflix streaming, what I did have was an on post library with DVDs of TV shows, YouTube, and other not so great streaming sites. We would have to load an episode, go do something for a while, and then come back to watch.

It’s so nice that these days there is so much to binge watch and that it is as easy as signing up for an app. Binge watching can be a good way to get through those lonely nights during a deployment, or to fill the time when you are stuck at home because of what is going on in the world.

Looking for something new? Here are 7 to add to your list:

1) Love is Blind on Netflix

Okay, if you haven’t watched this one yet, you should. I used to love to watch a lot of reality TV and these days I am pretty much over it but this one sucked me in. And it will probably suck you in too. And allow you to forget that everything is closed.

The show is a dating show, where men and women have dates in pods. Yes, pods. They can talk but they can’t see each other. The goal? Find someone to marry. No really. And it’s a crazy ride.

2) Locke and Key on Netflix

This show, based on the comic book series by Joe Hill, will suck you right in. You will want to know what is going to happen next. And wonder what is going on.

Locke and Key is about a family who recently lost their father. They return to his home town and live in his family house. The kids, two teenagers, and a young boy find keys that well…are actually magical keys. I loved the mystery of this one and felt part Stranger Things, part Goonies to me.

3) Virgin River on Netflix

If you want something a little more low key, check out Virgin River. This show is based on the books by Robyn Carr, and will warm your heart a little bit. It reminds me of a non-southern version of Hart of Dixie.

The main character is a midwife and moves to Virgin River to basically start over. The town doctor isn’t happy about this new arrival. And well…there is a handsome local of course, as well as a backstory we slowly learn about in each episode.

4) Little Fires Everywhere on Hulu

This show is new on Hulu, and so far, there are four episodes out. So if you want to binge the whole thing, you will have to wait a few weeks or watch the four now, and get hooked. The show is based on the novel by Celeste Ng.

The show is the story of a family of four children, with Reese Witherspoon playing the mom, and Joshua Jackson AKA Pacey, playing the dad. Kerry Washington plays a single mom, with her teenage daughter. This one is pretty deep but will also make you think about different things. Which is always a good thing.

5) Looking For Alaska on Hulu

Looking for Alaska is based on a John Green book that takes place at a boarding school. I read the book years ago and enjoyed it, and was excited to see a show based on the book.

Although this is a high school show, they don’t go to your typical boarding school. It’s more like a camp and about a boy, who falls in love with a girl, makes friends, and has to make sense of everything as they go through a tragedy together.

6) The West Wing on Netflix/HBO Max

I love the West Wing. I have binged the whole thing twice already and plan to do it again. This show can give you a big break from our own crazy political climate, and allow you to lose yourself in some late 90s, early 2000s drama.

The show is all about fictional President Bartlet, and his dedicated staff. The show will have you laugh a bit, draw you into the different relationships between the characters, and keep you entertained when the real world is a little too much.

7) Cheer on Netflix

This is a reality show based on the nationally-ranked 40-member Navarro College Bulldogs Cheer Team from Corsicana, Texas. The show will suck you in and warm your heart a bit.

You get to hear backstories from a few members of the team, learn more about their coach, Monica Aldama, and watch them train for nationals. This show will also give you a bit of hope for the future 🙂

While there has been news about Netflix and other production companies having to pause their filming, there are still new shows that will be coming out this spring and into the summer. And we can watch them all from our own homes!

What new shows are you loving during this time at home???

Your Military Spouse Journey

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Your Military Spouse Journey

You can’t believe it is happening. Your spouse joined the Army. This is going to be their career. So many people have told you how scary military life is going to be, but all you can think about is that he is finally living his dream and that you want to be there with him as he moves forward with this career change.

You wonder about what this means for you. You wonder how about your life will change. You wonder how the next few years will be.

Your spouse gets their orders, overseas, how did we get so lucky? What will living overseas really be like? Will I enjoy living there as much as I think I will?

Finally, the day arrives, you say goodbye, you are not sure how you are going to make it through these months apart. You hope you will only be apart a month or two. So many worries going through your head.

How will you solo parent your toddler? Right now that seems impossible. How will you be both mom and dad to him? When you depended on your husband for so much ever since your son was born.

And time passes, and you think you have this military thing figured out. But deep down you know there is so much ahead for you. For both of you.

And more time passes, and he is still over there in Germany and you are still in the US waiting with your young son. And you have to wait some more, Christmas comes and goes and you are still waiting. Waiting on what? Paperwork of course.

And your birthday passes, and Easter is right around the corner. You start to feel like you might never join him. And then, you hear the news, everything has been approved and it is your time to go. The paperwork has finally be done, and you are approved to actually live with your spouse again.

After all that waiting and now all of a sudden you find yourself on an airplane, headed for your future, whatever that might be. What will it be like to be a military spouse? What will it be like to go through a deployment? So many questions go through your mind.

But then, your PCS is over, you have unpacked and are trying to find your way in a new community. You are trying to figure out where you belong. You always wanted to be a SAHM, and now, here you are.

And then the deployment orders come. You knew they would. You knew that is apart of the deal. But you are not ready, how could you be? How could you truly ever be ready to send your spouse to war?

You make friends, other military spouses who get it. You know you can get through this deployment together. You know you can handle whatever comes your way.

But you are pregnant again, and he might miss the birth. They told you they will send him back, but will they? Can a family member come out to help? Can you really give birth without your husband by your side?

And they don’t send him home in time, just three days too late. But you handle it, your mom was able to be there with you, and get your through. You conquered yet another scary thing. One of many that comes with military life.

He comes home for R&R. To be with you, your toddler and your new baby. You have an amazing time. But of course, the time flies by. Why can’t the deployment do the same?

He says goodbye, he goes back to Iraq, where he has been. Only a few more months, you can do this. You have done a few months before. One last kiss, one last hug.

And then months go by, but the end isn’t in sight like you thought it would be. Extensions are happening, the Surge, this will be a longer deployment than you first thought.

He won’t be back when you thought he would be. He will miss more birthdays. He will miss more milestones. Will your boys even remember him?

But eventually, after all this waiting, he is home, in your arms. Just in time. In time for another birthday, in time for Christmas, in time to enjoy life.

You are so thankful. He made it home. Not everyone did. You know this all too well.

And so life goes on, and you enjoy your time together. You move somewhere new, your boys get a little older, and you make new friends. And now, 365 days later, you are doing this deployment thing all again.

Saying goodbye, hoping and praying he returns. Being a solo parent. Depending on friends. Taking the deployment day by day.

And so your military life journey goes. From deployment to PCS. From making friends to saying goodbye to them. To the frustrations, to the moments you never would have had if he had never joined.

You married a soldier. A man who serves. He is willing to put on the uniform, to say goodbye to everyone he loves, to put himself in harm’s way.

And all these years later, you can’t believe what you have gone through. You can only look back and remember what you have learned. Through every deployment, every time apart.

And you hope that in the future, you can be just as strong. That you can help others get through their own military journeys through your words. That you can make a difference in the world and can be there for your boys, for your husband and everything that comes your way.

This is my military spouse journey, which may be a bit different than yours. Maybe you haven’t been through a deployment yet, maybe you have never been overseas. Maybe you kick solo parenting in the butt, and maybe solo parenting is the hardest thing you have ever had to do.

When your spouse joins the military, or when you marry them if they are already in, you are crossing over to a different type of life. You will experience things you never would have otherwise, both good and bad. You will learn from what you go through, and figure out ways to help others that come after you.

As a military spouse, you are a part of history. A part of the many men and women who have come before you and who will come after you. A part of something that can sometimes be hard to describe to other people.

While wars might look different, while times will change, one thing is always true…the military spouse life is a journey. One to love at times, one to hate at times, and one to embrace, with everything you’ve got.

The Camo in my Living Room

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The Camo in my Living Room

I walk into my living room, and it is there. The camo. The color of the military.

Normally, this all lives in other parts of the house, put away, until it is needed. But today, I can see his military gear, and I know what that means.

The camo in my living room means he is getting ready to go. To serve. To train. To fight.

The camo in my living room means that I won’t be able to see him for a while. That he will be living somewhere else. That it is time for him to go.

Sometimes the camo means he is leaving for a little while, and that isn’t quite so bad.

Sometimes the camo means he is leaving for way too long, and my heart breaks a little when I think about what that means.

Often times, us military spouses get into the days of every day life. Our spouse is home, and while he might put on a uniform every day, or even just once a month, we feel pretty settled and content with everything.

And then we see the camo in the living room…

And we are reminded of what they signed up for, and what their purpose is.

And if we have been through this before, we are reminded about the lonely nights, the heartfelt goodbyes, and the long awaited homecomings.

We know we can get through what is ahead, although sometimes, we lose sight of that.

And even if we know we can get through any time apart, that doesn’t make saying goodbye any easier.

As we see them prepare for whatever is ahead, we wonder why we choose this road. Why did we marry a soldier? Why did we stand by when they signed those papers?

And as we watch our spouse packing things up, we know.

We know that this is who they are, and this is what they feel called to do. And we know that we feel called to them and for that, we know we can get through this challenge too.

As military spouse, we can go through periods of time when life just feels a little too hard. When we wish things were a little different, or that we had made different choices.

But…

As we watch them and see that camo in our living rooms, we feel a pride in our spouse that has chosen this road. And that even if watching them leave is difficult, we can stand by them as they go.

We know that we don’t have to go through all of this alone, other military spouses are doing the exact same thing.

We know we can help other spouses through this, because we have been there before.

We know that in the end, there is no other person we would rather be with, military and all.

So to those of you who also see camo in your living room during this season, you got this.

Even if the days are long…

Even if the tears keep coming…

Even if it seems like too much…

Because you are a military spouse, and you have the strength to handle the difficulties and challenges this life brings.

If you are getting ready to say goodbye, whether for just a few weeks or a lot longer, please visit the rest of my deployment blog posts, and know you are not alone.

We Are Military Spouses

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We Are Military Spouses

Being a military spouse is quite the journey. There is nothing quite like being married to someone serving in the military. This way of life is unique, filled with the good and the bad.

We Are Military Spouses

As military spouses…

We jump right into this life, dating someone who wears the uniform. Knowing that if we are going to get serious with them, we would have to be on board with a different type of lifestyle.

We marry civilians, and over the years, things changed and we stand by them as they sign papers to join the military.

We stay home, they go off to basic training, both of us not knowing what to expect, and hoping we made the right choice.

We pack up our first home, after waiting on orders for our first duty station, unsure how a California girl is going to do in Kansas.

We Are Military Spouses

We fly over the ocean for the first time, arriving in a city in Germany, ready to spend the rest of our 20s in a different country.

We move into military housing, unsure how we were going to make this tiny home work, but we will somehow figure it all out.

We stand by as the deployment orders come, knowing they will come again in the future too.

We comfort our friends as they say goodbye to their spouses, knowing that our turn is coming soon too.

We Are Military Spouses

We try to understand what all the terms mean, but even after years as a military spouse, some still confuses us.

We go to FRG meetings, even when we are not sure what to expect.

We leave our comfort zone because we know it might be the only way to make some friends who understand this life.

We feel left out of family events, since they are 2,000 miles away, but we take comfort in finding family-like friends at our duty stations.

We Are Military Spouses

We are never really sure how long we will be a military spouse, the struggle over re-listing is real.

We get frustrated with TRICARE but are thankful to have it all the same.

We hope and pray that the military doesn’t mess up our pay, and check the LES religiously just in case it does.

We start new hobbies, and learn new skills, trying to stay busy during the deployments.

We Are Military Spouses

We Are Military Spouses

We want to work on our own careers and get frustrated when the military makes that difficult.

We still try to do what we can, even if it seems impossible.

We are stay at home moms, work at home moms, and working out of the home moms.

We are stay at home dads, work at home dads, and working out of the home dads.

We Are Military Spouses

We come from different backgrounds and can learn a lot from one another.

We know that not everyone grew up like we did, and we have a window into other ways of doing things.

We are young, barely out of high school and we are more seasoned, turning 40 during our spouse’s 6th deployment.

We have been to college, or want to go, and hope that the military will help make that happen.

We Are Military Spouses

We have five children, or three children, or one little baby.

We don’t have children and don’t intend to ever change that.

We have dogs that stand by us through the hardest of days, and cats that piss us off, even though we love them so much.

We live on post, we live off post and make the best of any housing situation.

We Are Military Spouses

We Are Military Spouses

We have lived overseas for half of marriage and hope to go back someday soon.

We are scared to death to get orders to Europe but know it will be an experience of a lifetime.

We want to go to Hawaii, it’s always been a dream, and now with the military, going over there can happen.

We are not sure we will ever be able to be stationed OCONUS, but hope that it can happen with our next PCS.

We Are Military Spouses

We worry when our loved one is in a dangerous place.

We know, no news is good news, but that is hard to remember sometimes.

We learn OPSEC, PERSEC, and try to remember both even in the midst of a difficult deployment.

We know who we can lean on, and we reach out to others going through the same type of situation.

We Are Military Spouses

We welcome back our soldier, airmen, sailor, marine, or coastie, having spent hours finding the perfect outfit.

We know that the outfit doesn’t matter, just being back in their arms again does.

We worry about after the deployment, not knowing what to expect.

We try to be there for our spouse as much as possible, as they try to make their way during reintegration.

We Are Military Spouses

We Are Military Spouses

We solo parent, even with three toddlers under our foot.

We give birth without our partner, hoping we can video chat sometime during labor.

We depend on our friends, and family members to help when they can but we know we have to do a lot of it by ourselves.

We can’t help but laugh when Murphy’s law hits hard, that first day of deployment.

We Are Military Spouses

We dream, we hope, we pray…

We cry when things get hard, we comfort when they get hard for our neighbor.

We know that things could always be worse, and we know that things can and will get better when we are in a difficult place.

We grow stronger through it all and know that someday we will appreciate what we have been through if it hasn’t happened already.

We Are Military Spouses…the partners of those who serve our country. The ones back at home. The ones who wait.

How long have you been a military spouse???

 

Let’s Go To Prince Edward Island With Liz Johnson’s On Love’s Gentle Shore

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Let's Go To Prince Edward Island With Liz Johnson's On Love's Gentle Shore

Let’s Go To Prince Edward Island With Liz Johnson’s On Love’s Gentle Shore

I was provided a free copy of this book for review! There are affiliate links in this post. 

I love to read. I don’t have a particular favorite genre. Just depends on my mood and what books I am into at the moment. There is, however, something about a love story that gets me. Whether it is a historical fiction about a lost love or a modern story about childhood friends who find each other again.

I wanted to tell you about a recent book release that I think you will enjoy. On Love’s Gentle Shore is the third book in Liz Johnson’s Prince Edward Island Dreams series. You can also read about The Red Door Inn and Where Two Hearts Meet.

These sweet books take us to Prince Edward Island in Canada while we walk alongside the main character as she tries to understand and figure out a current problem she is dealing with. I have never been to Prince Edward Island, but that place is definitely on my travel bucket list.

On Love’s Gentle Shore is about a woman named Natalie who has moved away from the island to start a new life in Nashville. She is now back on the island to marry her fiancé Russell, but everything is a lot more complicated now that she is back. For one thing, she sees her childhood best friend Justin after all this time and can’t seem to make sense of her feelings about him.

What I loved about this book is that Natalie isn’t perfect. She struggles with her past and even her future. She is trying to figure everything out. I also love that the main characters from the previous books are also interacting with Natalie. We get to see what they have been up to and since we already know their backstory, these secondary characters are a little more real to us than they would be otherwise.

Having read all three of these books, I think this one is my favorite.

Liz Johnson writes about love and such and is a New York Times bestselling author of Inspirational Romantic Suspense and Contemporary Romance. To learn more, visit her website. You can also read the other books I have reviewed of hers in the past.

You can purchase the On Love’s Gentle Shore on Amazon 🙂