Tracy Crow

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About Tracy Crow
FLORIDA BOOK AWARDS PRESENTS "EYES RIGHT" WITH A BRONZE MEDAL IN GENERAL NONFICTION!
Tracy Crow is the author/editor of six books: the novella, COOPER'S HAWK: THE REMEMBERING; the popular history, IT'S MY COUNTRY TOO: WOMEN'S MILITARY STORIES FROM THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION TO AFGHANISTAN with co-author Jerri Bell; the award-winning memoir, EYES RIGHT: CONFESSIONS FROM A WOMAN MARINE; the military conspiracy thriller, AN UNLAWFUL ORDER, under her pen name, Carver Greene; the true-story collection, RED, WHITE, & TRUE: STORIES FROM VETERANS AND FAMILIES, WWII TO PRESENT; and the breakthrough writing text, ON POINT: A GUIDE TO WRITING THE MILITARY STORY, in which Crow combines her skills and experience as a former Marine Corps officer, award-winning military journalist, author, editor, and professor of creative writing. For more information, visit www.tracycrow.com.
FROM PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: In this bold and intriguing memoir, Crow (An Unlawful Order, as Carver Greene) chronicles her life as a female Marine in the late 1970s and early 80s, centering her narrative on her affair with a general that almost resulted in her being dishonorably discharged from the military. In an effort to escape the instability of her childhood and a bout with alcoholism, Crow graduated from high school, promptly joined the Marines in 1977, and was soon assigned to Public Affairs as a journalist. In addition to recounting her many accomplishments, including promotions and earning an expert badge at the rifle range, she unflinchingly describes her numerous struggles and humiliations, from the ectopic pregnancy that caused her to hemorrhage for four days while covering a Mountain Warfare Training program, to enduring the derision and childish antics of her male colleagues, to considering desertion in the face of a court-martial. Occasionally "the only woman surrounded by a thousand men," Crow likely owes her survival to her impressive--and relentless--resolve. Crow's is an engrossing story, and her impeccable storytelling skills bring her battles and triumphs--in the military and at home--vividly to life. Photos. (Apr.)
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Titles By Tracy Crow
This inspiring anthology is the first to convey the rich experiences and contributions of women in the American military in their own words—from the Revolutionary War to the present wars in the Middle East.
Serving with the Union Army during the Civil War as a nurse, scout, spy, and soldier, Harriet Tubman tells what it was like to be the first American woman to lead a raid against an enemy, freeing some 750 slaves. Busting gender stereotypes, Josette Dermody Wingo enlisted as a gunner’s mate in the navy in World War II to teach sailors to fire Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns. Marine Barbara Dulinsky recalls serving under fire in Saigon during the Tet Offensive of 1968, and Brooke King describes the aftermath of her experiences outside the wire with the army in Operation Iraqi Freedom. In excerpts from their diaries, letters, oral histories, and pension depositions—as well as from published and unpublished memoirs—generations of women reveal why and how they chose to serve their country, often breaking with social norms, even at great personal peril.
When Crow pledged herself to God, Corps, and Country, women Marines were still a rarity, and gender inequality and harassment were rampant. Determined to prove she belonged, Crow always put her career first—even when, after two miscarriages and a stillborn child, her marriage to another Marine officer began to deteriorate. And when her affair with a prominent general was exposed—and both were threatened with court-martial—Crow was forced to re-evaluate her loyalty to the Marines, her career, and her family.
Eyes Right is Crow’s story. A clear-eyed self-portrait of a troubled teen bootstrapping her way out of a world of alcoholism and domestic violence, it is also a rare inside look at the Marines from a woman’s perspective. Her memoir, which includes two Pushcart Prize–nominated essays, evokes the challenges of being a woman and a Marine with immediacy and clarity, and in the process reveals how much Crow’s generation did for today’s military women, and at what cost.
Even as we celebrate the return of our military from wars in the Middle East, we are becoming increasingly aware of the struggles that await veterans on the home front. Red, White, and True offers readers a collection of voices that reflect the experiences of those touched by war-from the children of veterans who encounter them in their fathers' recollections of past wars to the young men and women who fought in the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The diversity of perspectives collected in this volume validates the experiences of our veterans and their families, describing their shared struggles and triumphs while honoring the fact that each person's military experience is different.
Leila Levinson's powerful essay recounts her father's experience freeing a POW camp during World War II. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder provides a chilling account of being a new second lieutenant in Vietnam. Army combat veteran Brooke King recounts the anguish of raising her young children by day while trying to distinguish between her horrific memories of IED explosions in Baghdad and terrifying dreams by night.
These individual stories of pain and struggle, along with twenty-nine others, illustrate the inescapable damage that war rends in the fabric of society and celebrate our dauntless attempts to repair these holes with compassion and courage.