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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
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English
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BEYOND THE CALL

Eileen Rivers

Three Women on the Front Lines in Afghanistan

Beyond the Call is the riveting account of three female soldiers who fought shoulder-to-shoulder with their male counterparts in Afghanistan and worked with local Afghani women to restore their lives and village communities.
Maria Rodriguez, Sheena Adams, and Johanna Smoke had the same rigorous training as male soldiers under their belts: marching in scorching heat with forty-pound rucksacks on their backs, shooting M-16s through the windows of military vehicles, and defending their units in deadly firefights. And they did things that the male soldiers could never dogather intelligence on the Taliban from the women of Afghanistan. As females, these heroines were uniquely able to circumvent Muslim traditions and cultivate relationships with Afghan women who were bound by tradition not to speak with military men.

The radical work of these three brave women yielded transformative, groundbreaking results. By empowering local Afghan women with education and financial tools, Rodriguez, Adams, and Smoke helped communities rebuild their home nation, and gather the courage to resist the insurgency seeking to destroy it. For the women warriors of the military's Female Engagement Teams (FET), their work went beyond the call of duty in dangerous, courageous, and sometimes heartbreaking ways and they did it all while combatting the cutthroat masculinity of military brass and culture.

Beyond the Call follows the groundbreaking journeys of three women as they first fight against the male-dominated military culture and then enemy fire and tradition. And like the men with whom they served, their battles were not over when they returned home.

Eileen Rivers is a veteran of the US army and a former contributor to the Washington Post. She has been writing and reporting for over fifteen years, and has produced several interactive multi-media pages covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. While serving in Kuwait following Desert Storm, Rivers worked in the former combat zone as an Arabic linguist, collecting and translating information from enemy targets. Today she is a USA Today editor and editorial board member.
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Book

Published 2018-11-06 by Da Capo Press

Book

Published 2018-11-06 by Da Capo Press

Comments

[The] story of the fight for women's rights in a country where the male power structure opposes them.Compelling. The author's own military experience gives the book a perspective that is especially useful. A solid, fact-filled look at an underreported piece of the American military. Read more...

Rivers, besides being an Army veteran herself, is now a USA Today editor and has been reporting on veteran affairs for 15 years, so it is evident that she knows whereof she speaks. Read more...

2000-word excerpt (starts on page 100) as 4-page spread in Veterans Affairs special tab (70K circ and goes to military bases and posts nationwide) (Nov. 6, 2018)

Article about hometown hero Major Johanna Hipp being featured in the book Read more...

As an intimate primer on the FET program, Rivers' account, which includes a historical overview of American women in combat, is of clear interest.

A riveting story about three remarkable women soldiers and the incredible impact their service as a Female Engagement Team (FET) had on the war efforts in Afghanistan. They were able to win the trust of Afghan women and children restoring faith in the future and improving quality of life... all this while still doing the heavy lifting required of a United States soldier in combat.

Beyond the Call.makes an important contribution to understanding the evolving role of women in service to their country. [Rivers] ably documents how females in arms, who represent 16 percent of America's military, make their nation stronger. Read more...

...In spite of any previous official acknowledgement from our military, it is gratifying to know that things can change for the better and women are finally getting their due. As with all who serve, especially in combat, we hope that they receive all the honor and respect they deserve. Read more...

Maryland Today (website of University of Maryland) interviewed for feature on book, plugged Women in Military Service for America Memorial event Read more...

A compelling story, too long untold. Eileen Rivers reveals the power of women - of women in the U.S. military in Afghanistan, playing a crucial role in intelligence gathering that was impossible for their male counterparts. And the power of the Afghan women with whom they forged a bond. For the Afghan women, the war isn't over, of course. And the American women faced battles of their own when they got home. If you start reading Eileen Rivers' book, you won't be able to stop. Some of it will make you angry. Much of it will make you proud.