Genre: Nonfiction
Length: 200 pages
First Published: 2021
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Rachael’s Review
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author, who is a friend of mine. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
What happens when a knock on the door shatters your life as you know it? Only five weeks after deploying to Afghanistan as a physician assistant, Captain Cory Jenkins was killed by an IED. Suddenly a young widow with a 9-week old daughter, Brooke is set on a path she never expected to trod.
Critically speaking, the writing is good, but not excellent. Her transitions and childhood stories didn’t blend as seamlessly into the story as they should. Walters touches on the juxtaposition of having her private grief so publicly displayed, and I would have loved for her to diver deeper into more universal themes.
However, Walters does a great job conveying the overwhelming mix of emotions from her experience. I read the memoir in one afternoon and sobbed through the entire middle of the book. An emotional look at healing from loss, learning to forgive, and finding faith amid tragedy, Coming Home is a great read for anyone who loves personal memoirs.
Publisher’s Description
“The Secretary of the Army regrets to inform you that your husband, Captain Cory Jenkins, was believed to have been killed in action…”
Those were not the words Brooke Jenkins had planned to hear when she married the gentle but energetic love of her life, but when two Army officers appeared on her doorstep to deliver the news of her husband’s death in a remote village outside Kandahar, Afghanistan, she knew that things would never again go as she had planned. Those words marked the beginning of her loss and the beginning of an incredible journey she never expected to experience. Brooke’s struggle to navigate through the stages of her grief taught her how to heal, how to forgive, and how to surrender to a plan bigger than her own. Though few people have traveled the same path of sacrifice that Brooke has trod, her relatable voice and touch of humor are a light for anyone who struggles with the knowledge that life is not turning out exactly as they had planned.
Quotes from Coming Home
It’s amazing what you can do when no one gives you a choice.
I shared my husband and his legacy with the world, and I was happy to do it. But for heaven’s sake, I needed one thing that was all my own. They weren’t going to touch the only thing I had control over. My reactions.
I needed God to fix it, but how could He be responsible for both my pain and my healing?
It’s true what they say. The most powerful words in the English language really are “me too.”
About Brooke Walters
Brooke Walters is a freelance writer and author of the memoir Coming Home. She currently lives in Layton, Utah.
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