By MALORIE SOUGEY
K-State News and Communications
MANHATTAN — A new book from a Kansas State University trauma specialist explores the effects deployment and trauma can have on soldiers' relationships with partners and families using research from a long-term study with Kansas Army couples.
"Bulletproof Vows: Stories of Couples Navigating Military Deployments and Life's Battles" is the culmination of more than 30 years of trauma research by Briana Nelson Goff, professor of applied human sciences in the K-State College of Health and Human Sciences. It tells the stories of eight post-9/11 Army couples stationed at either Fort Riley or Fort Leavenworth, both in Kansas, who were interviewed first in 2005 and again in 2015.
The book, which was initially titled "In Love and War: Stories of Couples Navigating Military Deployments and Life Battles," describes the experiences of the eight Army couples during the course of ten years — before, during and after deployments — and highlights the resilience of the couples and families.
"Everyone who has served — and anyone who loves someone who has served — knows that war changes people, whether overseas or back at home," said Nelson Goff. "These couples survived the deployments and navigated life's battles, forging bulletproof vows along their extraordinary journeys."
"Bulletproof Vows: Stories of Couples Navigating Military Deployments and Life's Battles" was published Jan. 16, 2023, through New Degree Press and is available now. For more information about the book and to join the Bulletproof Vows community, visit the Bulletproof Vows Facebook page.