The Loved One

by Peggy Stoks and Catherine Palmer

Book Overview

When Meg Chilton's son announces that he wants to join the military, Meg is devastated. Her husband suffered physical and emotional trauma while fighting in Vietnam, and Meg is afraid that she will... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1414314612
• ISBN13: 9781414314617
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
• Length: 181 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A little cheesy, but a good read.

This is a wonderful story and was a joy to read, but for my taste, I found it to be a bit cheesy. It was just a little to perfect for the real world. By that I mean it borders on being unbelievable or unrealistic. At times, particularly during family conversations, it reads like a soap opera script, which is a shame because much of the narrative, particularly the depiction of battle scenes and traumatic events, is not only plausible, but at times exceptional! THE LOVED ONE, by Catherine Palmer and Peggy Stoks is the story of a mother struggling with her only sons' decision to turn down a Yale scholarship to enlist in the military. The mother has spent several years tracing her husbands' family genealogy and through the stories of her sons' ancestors, she discovers more reasons to support his decision than she has reason to oppose it. Other than being a little much at times, and I hesitate to use "far fetched" because it really isn't that, it's just a writing style that I personally find to be a bit of a stretch at times, this is a wonderful story and certainly serves a purpose. The story exhibits many forms of virtue including commitment, dedication, courage and sacrifice. There is just enough history, which is basically accurate, to attract readers of historical fiction, and the book poses several scenarios of why no one, regardless of social standing, intelligence or family situation should be exempt from serving their country. This book would also be invaluable for anyone having difficulty dealing with having a child in the military. I hope my review hasn't come off as too harsh, because I truly did enjoy this book and give it a high recommendation. It may not be exactly my style of reading, but it was enjoyable, nonetheless and I'm sure many readers will find it to their liking.

A familiar story for many

I was blessed to receive this book as a gift during a deployment which had both my brother and my husband in Iraq at the same time. Although I don't put my own feelings or needs before my husband or brothers duty, I can certainly identify with the fear. The story gave credibility to the many moms of prospective recruits who may be too afraid to speak thier heart and to those who are bold enough to do so. Even if some of the reviewers found the book or the storyline "boring", the most amazing aspect is that it gives reassurance to the parents who struggle with their son or daughter voluntarily going off to war. I would recommend this to everyone, even if they don't have a family member serving or considering the military as a career.

If you are a Military Wife/Mother

If you are a Military Wife/Mother who is struggling with the fact that your loved one is going to war then this is the book for you. My husband is in the 120th and his unit was shipped to Iraq and served for eighteen months. I felt I was blessed, because of my husbands asthma, he was not allowed to deploy with his unit. This has been a terrible struggle for him as deploying in America's time of need was what he enlisted to do. After reading this book, I realized how selfish I had been in not wanting him to go. True love means "being willing to sacrifice everything-to surrender all hopes of security, comfort, and peace...to give up safety and the promise of a profitable future with family and work...to lay down even one's own life."-Catherine Palmer. After reading this book, I called my husband at work to let him know how proud of him I would be if he is deployed. So, if you are struggling with this dilemma, I strongly suggest you read this book. If you don't belong to a military family, you will probably think this book is drivel...and isn't it nice that our sons and husbands fight for you to be able to say what you think about anything-including a book!

A Mother's Anguish

Every GI has a mom. And every one of those moms will identify with The Loved One. Authors Catherine Palmer and Peggy Stoks touchingly express the anguish that mothers of servicemen must endure. Meg Chilton has big dreams for 18-year-old Tyler, her only son. He's been awarded a full scholarship to Yale. Given such a dazzling opportunity, who knows what gallant feats the intelligent, talented Tyler John Chilton can accomplish for God? Meg's heart soars with pride-until Tyler announces his determination to join the army. She is devastated, and flatly refuses to give her blessing to his decision, even though Tyler insists that God is leading him to enlist.Lucky for Meg, the Lord anticipated her reaction and prepared a means of reaching her heart. She is an avid researcher of their family's ancestry, and during the course of preparing a scrapbook for Tyler documenting the lives of his forebears, she uncovers the heroic deeds of people who sacrificially gave of themselves for the good of their country. The Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I and World War II required extraordinary sacrifice from four of Tyler's ancestors. Meg eventually comes to realize that Tyler's obedience to God echoes the brave choices made by those who have gone before. And such obedience is imminently more admirable than getting a scholarship to Yale.In The Loved One, five separate stories are finely woven into one gripping tale. Today, with so many American soldiers giving their lives in the fight against terrorism, it's a particularly compelling read.