A Bounty of Books

Tough As They Come by SSG Travis Mills is the autobiography of one modern soldier who sustained and overcame catastrophic injuries while serving in Afghanistan. Part of the famous 82nd Airborne Division, Staff Sergeant Mills was six weeks into his third tour of duty when he triggered an IED. The explosion left him a quadruple amputee as he became the fourth such survivor of the war on terror.

SSG Mills' story is a pretty typical one until his injury. He recounts growing up a star football player in small town America. He enlisted after feeling aimless and unfulfilled during his short time in college. He met and married his wife in a whirlwind romance between his first and second tours, and they had a baby girl between his second and third tours.

The first three quarters of so of Tough As They Come is about SSG Mills' life before his injury. It includes amusing anecdotes from his childhood and stories about his experiences during his first two tours. As an infantryman and a paratrooper he saw a lot of action and served his second tour in the remotest, barest regions of Afghanistan. His personality comes through the description of his life. Its obvious he looks at things positively and uses humor to deal with tough things. He loves hard, works hard, and play hard. All of these things would come into play during the recovery from his injuries.

It's obvious SSG Mills doesn't view himself has a hero, though he is, just as are all the other men and women who have served our country. His tenacity and spirit are great examples for anyone facing adversity. Tough As They Come is easy to read as it feels like one is just listening to an entertaining storyteller. It's well written and appropriately paced. The excerpts of his wife's journals and other recollections from people in his life add a unique flavor that give credibility to Mills' character and personality.

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in stories about overcoming adversity. Those interested in the stories of soldiers or the war on terror should also read this book.

Blogging for Books provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255

In the Land of Blue Burqas by Kate McCord (which is a protective pseudonym) is a description of McCord's five years spent living in and ministering to the women of Afghanistan. Mainly through sharing anecdotes of her time there, the author shares many simple yet profound truths she learned about Jesus, being a follower of Christ, Islam, and the Afghanistan culture.

The author's humble and teachable spirit struck me in the first few pages and is one of the most prominent aspects of this book. The cultural adaptations she made in order to fit into her community and not offend those she was working with are impressive, as were the lengths she went to in order to understand both the religious and cultural lenses through which the people of her community saw life. McCord's accounts of different conversations she had with both the men and women in her area of Afghanistan were informative on two levels. The most obvious is that it provides a small window of insight into both the cultural and religious aspects of a country with which America is heavily involved in, though most of us have little to no understanding of its history or its people.

The less obvious is how the things McCord did and they way she approached things allowed her to have open and honest conversations with her neighbors about important topics which had the potential to be divisive, yet were simply instructive.  Her account was an encouragement and challenge to me about how I interact with those around me, especially those with whom I may have very little in common. The hope of Jesus Christ transcends every barrier humanity has created; McCord is a great example of how His followers can help knock those barriers down in constructive and healing ways.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in Afghan culture, living in a different culture, or learning how to better connect with others.

I received this book free from Moody Publishers as part of their Moody Publishers Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255