In reading the excerpt, my curiosity about the fellowship and friendship between the wives was what drove me to keep reading in hopes of getting a sample of it. That didn't happen. The excerpt (up to page 28) was well written and bravely honest. I'd never read stories of army wives nor have I known army wives so it was good to get a sneak peek into one's experience, feelings, and thoughts. The way the narrative is written from the very beginning felt to me like I was listening to a close friend confiding in and venting to me. That led to a feeling of privilege and honour in learning of Simone's personal experience, every detailed piece of it. One of the things that surprised me about Simone and Andrew was their own conflicting worldviews and values that they were struggling with from the very conception of the idea of enlistment. All in all, I enjoyed the read but was quite disappointed that not much about the wives was foreshadowed or somehow strung into the excerpt.