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Frank Schaeffer

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Faith of Our Sons: A Father's Wartime Diary Kindle Edition

by Frank Schaeffer (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.5 24 ratings

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In 1998, novelist Frank Schaeffer's eighteen-year-old son John joined the Marines straight out of prep school. Their ensuing journey, recounted in the bestselling Keeping Faith: A Father-Son Story About Love and the United States Marine Corps, struck a fervent chord amongst the many Americans with a family member in the military. In Faith of Our Sons, Frank Schaeffer picks up his family's ongoing story as Corporal John Schaeffer is deployed to the Middle East on the day Gulf War II begins. Schaeffer's moving and timely account of the universal experience of losing a child either temporarily or permanentlyto war and his attendant emotions (from pride to panic to rage and back again) is punctuated throughout by the voices of the many others in Frank's situation, thousands of parents and children, who continue to pour their hearts out to the Schaeffers in countless letters since the publication of Keeping Faithfrom those waiting anxiously for loved ones to come home to those who know they never will. No other book addresses the more intimate, but in some ways just as difficult and heroic side of the wartime experience: that of those waiting at home, praying for the safety of their loved ones.

Print length

320 pages
Language

English
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Publisher

Da Capo Press
Publication date

April 27, 2009
File size

1887 KB
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this follow-up to Keeping Faith: A Father-Son Story About Love and the United States Marine Corps (2002), which Schaeffer coauthored with his son, Corporal John Schaeffer, Frank and his wife confront the reality of their sons deployment to Iraq in February 2003. Although the third sentence of this "Diary of Deployment" is "Im elated for my boy because he sounds happy," the fourth is "Im elated in the same way one is elated by looking over a cliff." Over the ensuing months, Frank and Genie work to calm their nerves, get and share information from and with other parents, and help parents whose children are killed in battle cope with their lossessome of whose letters are included here, as are letters from John, who returns to his U.S. base safely in December. Schaeffer is unflinching in recounting day-to-day dreams, fears and coping mechanisms, and in registering his own, and others, reactions to the politics of the war. Although most parents of soldiers dont write Op-Eds for the Washington Post or appear on Oprah, Schaeffer is careful to try to give voice to "ordinary" parents and soldiers from all branches of the service, and that care is what makes this volume a valuable resource for other parents of military personal.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0028N61J6
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Da Capo Press; 1st Carroll & Graf Ed edition (April 27, 2009)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 27, 2009
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1887 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Not enabled
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 320 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #3,618,425 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #497 in Biographies of the Iraq War
- #622 in Historical Middle Eastern Biographies
- #1,288 in Iraq War Biographies

Customer Reviews:
4.5 24 ratings

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Frank Schaeffer

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New York Times best selling author of more than a dozen books Frank Schaeffer is a survivor of both polio and an evangelical/fundamentalist childhood, an acclaimed writer who overcame severe dyslexia, a home-schooled and self-taught documentary movie director, a feature film director and producer of four low budget Hollywood features Frank has described as "pretty terrible," and a best selling author of both fiction and nonfiction. Frank is the author of "And God Said, 'Billy!'" and many other books. Frank's three semi-biographical novels about growing up in a fundamentalist mission: "Portofino," "Zermatt" and "Saving Grandma" have a worldwide following and have been translated into nine languages. Jane Smiley writing in the Washington Post (7/10/11) says this of Frank's memoirs "Crazy For God" and "Sex, Mom and God": "[Schaeffer's] memoirs have a way of winning a reader's friendship...Schaeffer is a good memoirist, smart and often laugh-out-loud funny...Frank seems to have been born irreverent, but his memoirs have a serious purpose, and that is to expose the insanity and the corruption of what has become a powerful and frightening force in American politics... Frank has been straightforward and entertaining in his campaign to right the political wrongs he regrets committing in the 1970s and '80s...As someone who has made redemption his work, he has, in fact, shown amazing grace."

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Matt

Awesome read, for a mom with a son at Marine bootcamp.

Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2017

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I read this after reading Keeping Faith. My son is currently at boot camp in San Diego. Frank and John helped me see both perspectives of what it is like to be in the military, and be a parent. Thank you so much for writing, for serving, for sharing your word.

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Kenneth A. Toombs

great read for anyone who has a loved one deployed

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2019

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Very inspirational read. Keep kleenex near by.

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Peter Ingemi

A window to the mind of those left behind.

Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2004

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Unlike the first volue Frank Schaeffer's FAITH OF OUR SONS is about the people who wait with baited breath for news of their loved ones who are doing the dirty, but necessary work in this war.
It is an excellent volume and a statement on our times. The anxiety felt by the Schaeffer family is the same as millions of Americans have felt over the 228 years of our history (and before).
What differs is the curse and blessing of the modern world. Instant news leads to instant worry, E-mail and cell phones lead to instant relief and support via the e-mails shared between the families of those who wait.
What also differs is the disconnect of most of us have from this situation. Mr. Schaeffer in unable to hide his contempt for those who are indifferent to the freedom that his son helps provide and their distruct of the military. This contempt seems to be driven at himself for sharing that view at one time and it amplifies his anger.
This adds passion to the book although if like me you never served you might get the feeling you've let someone else do work that was yours. It's not a good feeling but it is healthy.
Required reading.

24 people found this helpful

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clifford r cox

Excellent, heartfelt chronicle of a father unashamed to display ...

Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2015

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Excellent, heartfelt chronicle of a father unashamed to display his love, hope, fears&devotion to his son, this work will be poignant to & deeply moving for anyone whose child has served in a foreign war-zone.

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Amazon Customer

Touching insight for all parents

Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2016

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As I begin my journey as a parent of a US Marine, this book along with Keeping Faith have given me the knowledge to help my son as he serves our country.

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Mr. Robert C. Bonds

Not Just for Waiting Families of Those Serving

Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2008

We have just had the 5th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Yet except for a handful of protesters the war is off the radar screen for most Americans and that is a shame. To the thousands of loved ones and family members of those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan what goes on there is on their minds 24/7.

Frank Schaeffer tells it like it is, the gut wrenching anguish that families go through day in and day out praying that they will not receive that fearful knock on the door. He also shares the joy that comes when that family member is out of harm's way. Schaeffer shoots straight to the heart when he writes about those who so casually take for granted our way of life, libery and personal freedom, not willing to invest a damn thing to ensure that these precious gifts will be passed on to future generations.

Wake up America!!!! Get off your backside and thank God for those like Frank Schaeffer's son who give up so much and who are truly giving their all so that you can sleep in on Sunday morning, secure and safe.

I am taking my copy of this book to church to share with a family whose son is in Iraq and who has volunteered for a second tour. It is the least I can do. So America you don't have to agree that what our government has committed us to in Iraq is right. You should however pray everyday for those serving there and in other troubled places in the world for their safe return. You should not pass up any oppportunity to do something positive for those on the front line. The first being to read this book and open your eyes, your hearts and your minds.

4 people found this helpful

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Hillary Alexander

An honest portrayal of a life most don't understand.

Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2013

As a military wife whose husband was deployed this book gave me a laugh, a sense of hope and the feeling that there were those out there who really understood. Frank writes in an open and honest way about himself and his emotions. He is able to let you in and help you understand something that very few people get to experience. It is books like this that help the 98% of our population understand what it means to be a military family and the choices we make.

Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2017

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A Great Read! It arrived in great condition as well!

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