The Purpose
While Tori adds that she did want the war to be “a character” in the novel, she is passionate that this is a book that many women can relate to. “I really wanted this to be a book for all women facing some kind of struggle.” She points to the inevitable moment in life where we look around ourselves and wonder, “This isn’t what I thought my life was going to look like.” The solution? To bloom where we’re planted, to see change as a learning curve and take something positive from it. Or, as Tori laughs, “Like the Rolling Stones song! You don’t always get what you want, but you get what you need.”
So, the big question is, why write the novel? “I didn’t write the book for military spouses,” Tori admits. “Well, not just for military spouses!” She recalls her civilian friends and family when Matt was deployed, who could never relate to the military experience, who would ask, “what is it like? How did you do it?” Eula, Calli’s best friend in the novel, is Tori’s condensed caricature of the civilian society around her during that part of her life; she is warm-hearted, generous, but blissfully ignorant of the war happening thousands of miles away — and of her best friend’s plight throughout it. In an effort to reach out to those who remained relatively unaffected, Tori’s intention was to open a small window to the military community, giving a rare, remarkable insight to the mindset of a woman whose husband is, quite literally, risking his life every day. “I wanted the world to see my snapshot of that time.”
Furthermore, Tori makes a beautiful point when I ask about the strong emphasis on letter-writing in the novel. She recalls the image of a trunk of letters in a grandfather’s attic; how people throughout history have written their own histories, left pieces of themselves behind for future generations in letters and journals. Nowadays, she sighs, “We’re losing that, with email and Skype. We’re not going to have these trunks any more. So who is going to write the history of these wars? What about the ‘you’ and the ‘me?’”
Tori’s goal, then, was to take a snapshot of the home front during a modern war; to “immortalize” it, so to speak. Moreover, she feels strongly that it’s important to vocalize and record the experiences of the “invisible female culture” that is often lost in history books and war stories. “I want to inspire other military wives to write down their stories.”
As we wrap up, I ask if there is a sequel in store. She smiles, “Originally I said no… But I’m leaving the door open.” Putting pen to paper, through to publication, took eight years of Tori’s life; with motherhood and the military constantly demanding attention, that makes perfect sense. I must say, though, I eagerly anticipate Eversmann’s new material.
In the meantime, I hope that Tori’s message rings true for others. As a mother to a twelve-year-old daughter, she Tori’s overall goal is simple. She desires that her grow up with an understanding of the war, her parents’ experience of it and the value that our children will take from hearing our tales.
Author: Amy Byrne is a Marine Corps spouse. Amy is a top contributor for Military Spouse and she also edits the fashion section for Literally Darling and blogs for Scene on Spylight.
