During the war in Sierra Leone (1991–2002), members of various rebel movements kidnapped thousands of girls and women, some of whom came to take an active part in the armed conflict alongside the rebels. In a stunning look at the life of women in wartime, Chris Coulter draws on interviews with more than a hundred women to bring us inside the rebel camps in Sierra Leone.When these girls and women returned to their home villages after the cessation of hostilities, their families and peers viewed them with skepticism and fear, while humanitarian organizations saw them primarily as victims. Neither view was particularly helpful in helping them resume normal lives after the war. Offering lessons for policymakers, practitioners, and activists, Coulter shows how prevailing notions of gender, both in home communities and among NGO workers, led, for instance, to women who had taken part in armed conflict being bypassed in the demilitarization and demobilization processes carried out by the international community in the wake of the war. Many of these women found it extremely difficult to return to their families, and, without institutional support, some were forced to turn to prostitution to eke out a living.Coulter weaves several themes through the work, including the nature of gender roles in war, livelihood options in war and peace, and how war and postwar experiences affect social and kinship relations.

First published in hardcover by Scribner in 2014.

Final copy of 'Soldiers' women'.

The story of the Military Wives has entranced the nation. It is a story of heartbreak, hope, love and loss; it speaks to the heart of our country, and has inspired millions.In December 2011, as the nation watched, the Military Wives' single was named Christmas Number 1. A few weeks earlier they had been just regular women living on military bases in Devon: the wives and girlfriends of soldiers deployed to Afghanistan.From the moment they sang together for the BBC 2 series 'The Choir', their lives changed forever.Through the choir, the women have found comfort, solace, strength and friendship. Here, for the first time, they tell their individual stories.From the loneliness and isolation of life on a military base to the challenge of writing to men facing unimaginable horrors, these are true, uncensored accounts straight from the wives themselves. Moving, affecting and inspiring, they are stories that touch all our hearts.More than a song or performance, these are the stories that bring us together.

We know that a supportive family is the key to a person's success. It is fascinating to read a history of military wives that begins to give them the credit they deserve for service to their country and their families. "Patricia Schroeder U.S. Representative, Colorado" "Campfollowing" opens an important page in history for the military and for the role of women in the military. The women described in this book were not only devoted wives and mothers who brought a few of the comforts of home to forlorn military outposts, but they were also nurses who cared for the sick and wounded, as well as soldiers who fought bravely next to their soldier-husbands. They served their country with great love, dignity, and honor, and they deserve this long overdue recognition. I believe this book will be both an inspiration and a model for present military spouses as they follow their loved ones throughout the world or wait patiently at home for them when they are apart. "Timothy E. Wirth U.S. Senator, Colorado" Campfollowers themselves, Betty Alt and Bonnie Stone have collected published and unpublished memoirs, diaries, and letters and have conducted personal interviews to present this comprehensive history of the military wife from the Revolutionary War through the post-Vietnam years. The first work to concentrate on the unique hardships and rewards known to these women, this book considers both the traditional and modern roles of the military wife, with particular attention to her place as second in line to her husband's career and the military establishment's reluctant acceptance of her as integral to the success of its mission. Resilience and flexibility, loneliness and companionship, and danger and loyalty are all components of the military wife's life described in these revealing pages. The chapters are organized chronologically, outlining the experience during peacetime and war, stateside and overseas. Throughout, the focus remains on the strength of this sisterhood as it copes with separation and fear by fostering its sense of community, and faces the indifference of the military by constantly asserting its identity. This look at the many different facets of life as a military wife, described from a personal perspective within a historical framework, is a thoughtful analysis, a complete chronicle, and a true adventure with all its joys and perils.