I didn't expect to cry so much. I am a fan of military novels, with Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried" always landing in my list of all-time favorite historical fiction novels. However, there has been little for books from the female soldier's perspective. Kelli Este's book explores this perspective by alternating the perspective of a modern-day female Afghanistan war veteran with PTSD with that of a woman who enlists in the Civil War by pretending to be a man. Both women deal with trauma, and both discuss the unique challenges their femininity introduces. I absolutely recommend this book.

Thank you Kelli Estes, Sourcebooks Landmark, and NetGalley for the advance release copy of this book, in exchange for my honest review.

Today We Go Home, by Kelli Estes, tells the powerful story of two women separated by two hundred years but connected by their experiences. Emily Wilson lives during the time of the American Civil War. After losing her father and eldest brother to the Confederate guns, she and her younger brother enlist in the same regiment. But Emily must hide her womanhood in order to serve her country and follow in her father's footsteps. In the present time, Larkin Bennet has returned home from her second deployment in Afghanistan, bruised in both mind and body. After losing her best friend to a suicide bomber, Larkin must find something to live for. She finds it in Emily’s diary. The two women discover their strength and purpose as they wade their way through war, loss, trauma, and life in a man’s world.

I knew I was going to love this novel when very quickly tears were brought to my eyes. Estes’ writing is powerful, moving, and incredibly real. While I don’t have PTSD, Larkin’s struggles were written so well I forgot for the majority of the novel she wasn’t a real person. But of course, she is real, in a sense. She, and Emily, are representatives of all the women who have served their country. I thought the description of Emily’s trauma was well done and suited the time period. As Larkin discovers, PTSD was not diagnosed as such back then and there was little support for it. But in both cases, the women are able to find a purpose to focus on and get the help they needed.

The flip between the 1800s and present time was flawless. I loved the way Larkin would read a diary entry, and the following chapter would typically be Emily’s point of view version of the entry or just leading up to it. I have read some novels where the flip is quite clunky, but am happy to say this is not one of those novels.

Overall, I must say I’ve read few novels as powerful as Today We Go Home. I don’t think it’s too “feminist” for anyone to enjoy, as I worry some may think the theme is pandering to recent events. Regardless of whether Larkin is a man or woman, or if we focus on Emily or Jesse, the story is about two soldiers who find their strength in an extremely volatile time and place. I applaud Estes’ research and her way of making sure that no one woman’s story was left unsaid through her encouragement to the reader. With flawless writing, relatable characters, and an important message, Today We Go Home is a must read.

And I feel it necessary to thank those who serve their country, both men and women. But especially those who often get overlooked. As Estes says in her parting words: “See her. Hear her. Thank her.”

What an enjoyable and exciting read. We get a bonus, the book contains two great stories of two special female war veterans. Larkin Bennett is our present day hero, serving two deployments to Afghanistan. Her life has ended as she knew it. She has moved in with her grandma to recover and try to deal with the PTSD. While going through her best friends Sarah's things, which were left to her, she finds an old diary. The diary belongs to Emily Wilson. A young woman who disguises herself as a man, so she can fight in the Civil War next to her younger brother. Kelli Estes intertwines contemporary and historical settings flawlessly.
This book was one I read long into the night. I could not but it down. Due to the time period, there are some very dark situations during the war. Kelli Estes has a special way of bringing light out of the darkness. I was given a copy of this book by Sourcebook Landmark through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is an interesting story told in both the present and the time of the Civil War. After being discharged from the Army< Larkin Bennett suffers from PTSD and her guilt over the death of her best friend Sarah, which she feels at fault for. While going through Sarah's possessions she finds the diary of Sarah's ancestor, Emily. Emily posed as a soldier to follow her brother into war. This story alternates between Larkin's troubles and Emily's story, through which Larkin is able to find some peace and a purpose. A very engaging book and a thoughtful look at women in the military in the past and present.

I really enjoyed Kelli Estes' last book, 'The Girl Who Wrote in Silk' and was happy to read a galley of her new book that comes out this summer. This story explores the history of women who served our country during our civil war, in the 1860s. In order to do so, these women had to pretend to be men. Back to present day, we meet Larissa, who served in Afghanistan, and is back home with the diary of the woman who fought during the civil war. While their stories are unique, the running themes in this one are similar, even today. There were female veterans of the Civil War, who suffered from PTSD, and suffered at the hands of their fellow male soldiers. This story is quite timely with the current 'ME TOO' movement. While the ending was a little far fetched for me, I did enjoy the history of this story and the historical elements.

Although a story of fiction, there were many truths in this book. The truth that PTSD is real and can control your life. The truth throughout history, women have not been given the respect and honor derserving them, especially in the military. This is a story about how the love of family and friends can help you find hope again. Definitely recommended!

Thank you to Netgalley for a chance to review Today We Go Home. I enjoyed this book. I liked how the book jumped from the present to the Civil War. The characters in the book were likeable people. The women in the book, both past and present, were strong in morals and character. The history of women serving in the Civil War was fascinating. Women have come a long way since this time but there are still things to improve upon.

The book helped me as a non-military person understand some of the struggles with PTSD and the judgement passed on military personnel especially women serving in the military. In a few places, I felt the book went a little far with the feminist aspect of the book and I am a woman. I truly hope people can have respect for those serving our country, both past and present, which this book promotes. We should be proud of everyone that makes sacrifices to serve our country.

This book starts out with a female veteran recently discharged after a traumatic injury in Afghanistan. Readjusting to civilian life is difficult. In a box in a storage unit, a diary from a Civil War soldier is found. This soldier pretended to be a man in order to fight in the war and be near her family. Parallels from the 1860's and today bring healing to the female vet. While reading the diary, research is done and a blog is started about the experiences of female soldiers. The book is meaningful and inspirational about the role of women soldiers .

Today We Go Home is a historical fiction of two women fighting in wars at different times. And, suffering both from PTSD. The book is well researched and offers an insight of history but also of the women's lives. I'm not going into details of the storyline because you have to find out by yourself. I highly recommend reading it. Thank you again NetGalley for a copy of this book.

This book is amazing!! “Today We Go Home” weaves together the lives of Emily who enlists as a Union soldier disguised as a man during the Civil War and Larkin a present day war veteran. The author highlights the struggle and persistence of woman past and present in the military. It is an extremely well-researched novel that tackles the issues presented with understanding and truthfulness and it gives excellent insights into the ways veterans cope with traumatic events. It has a strong story line and captivating central characters. I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. I highly recommend it! My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Where do I start? It’s not often that I feel emotional while reading a book, but the wonderful Kelli Estes has done it again. This book alternates between present day veteran Larkin and past veteran Emily. It is woven together so beautifully, and of course their stories intercede. And what a powerful tribute to female military personnel everywhere. 5 stars. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.

If they gave 1/2 stars this would be 3 1/2 stars. “Today We Go Home” is an intense and important story of an Afghanistan War Veteran and her re-entry into civilian life. The main character, Larkin, struggles with PTSD and vividly points out the disparaging treatment female military members often face. The story weaves together Larkin’s challenges with the story of a young female soldier during the civil war whose diary Larkin is reading. My favorite part of the book was the time spent during the civil war era. It was a fascinating and rich portrayal of something I knew little about. I had a bit of a hard time relating to Larkin. And while I suspect it was more my lack of understanding than the book, I found Larkin at times too self-absorbed in light of the love and understanding she was surrounded by. This left me, however, even pondering more about the issue of PTSD and what veterans endure. In many ways, I suspect this is exactly what the author is hoping to achieve, getting the reader to stop and think about the struggles veterans, and particularly women veterans have during their service and upon re-entry to civilian life! I additionally enjoyed the author’s notes at the end about why and how she approached this book. It is an incredibly well-researched novel and the author tackles the issues presented with compassion and honesty! “Today We Go Home” is well worth the time spent reading it. It is an eye-opening experience on so many different levels! I was honored to receive a free advance copy of the book from NetGalley and the Publisher, Sourcebooks Landmark in exchange for an honest review.

"Women today were doing the same jobs as men, both in the military and out of it, and still being treated as second-class citizens. The constant battle was exhausting, and right now. Larkin was too tired to fight it."

This book captured me from the beginning. It is a historical fiction story of a woman who fought as a man in the Civil War and a present day woman who fought in Afganistan. I haven't read any books about a woman in the military so it was all new to me and I devoured it.

As I was reading and the stories about the real women who fought were presented I couldn't help but to research them! I wanted to know more about these brave women. And this book talks about PTSD and does a remarkable job of illustrating troubles people have when dealing with coming home from war. This will definitely be going into my library and as I got an ARC copy it is not out until August but I encourage you to pre-order this book, because it is worth it!

An ambitious and enthralling novel, with fully realized characters and a powerful sense of time and place. Poignant and haunting--

We follow two stories in parallel: Larkin’s, nowadays, retired military woman (so to speak) because of a tragedy which took place on her last mission. And Emily’s, whose story starts in 1861 (during the Civil War), a young woman who, as a result of a combination of circumstances, disguised herself as a man to join the army.
I didn’t know this author, I wanted to read this book because the Civil War is my favorite historical period (I was brought up with Gone with the wind from Margaret Mitchell, Ashes in the wind from Kathleen Woodiwiss and the saga “Louisiana” from Maurice Denuzière) and also because I was intrigued by the description of the book, I had no idea that women may have disguised themselves as men to become soldiers – even if I was not surprised by that fact. Especially since it really was the case, the writer gives us explanations (mostly at the end of the book but also during the story) about women who really existed and who served as men (and not only during the Civil War).

We are on a theme rather dramatic throughout the book: we follow the psychological reconstruction of Larkin who suffers from PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) and who succeeds in overcoming (or rather controlling) her demons thanks to the reading of Emily’s diary who lived herself that kind of traumatism in a time when we didn’t know it existed.
I really enjoyed my reading: it was very enlightening, historically speaking and also about the situation of women in the military today, all sprinkled with a touch of welcome feminism.
The book is well written and the story is very addictive. We really want to know what happened to Emily and if Larkin will get through. There are a few very emotional moments, the author is very talented.
About the characters, I preferred Emily’s story whom I found a lot more endearing than Larkin. Larkin’s reactions are undoubtfully due to her state of mind and I couldn’t really blame her for them but she annoyed me anyway two or three times.

To conclude, I really liked this book and I highly recommend it. It reads well, it is captivating and it has an important message.

Intersecting stories about female war veterans: present-day Larkin Bennett copes with PTSD, grief and guilt over the death of her best friend Sarah, as well as her own dishonorable discharge in Afghanistan while reading the Civil War journal kept by an Emily Wilson who enlisted in Indiana's 9th Infantry by posing as a male Union soldier.

I loved reading author Kelli Estes's true voice in her Afterward, with her passionate respect, honor and defense of all women who serve in the military. I learned a lot in this book about soldier's heart, a condition which was also referred to as melancholia or even insanity back in the 1800's; and about what today is classified as Military Sexual Trauma. Larkin and Emily's dialog might not ring quite so true, but that didn't slow down the action-packed story arc; the diary worked perfectly as epistolary device along with the research Larkin did online on women serving in disguise in the Civil War.

This was my first book by Kelli Estes but I'm sure it won't be my last. I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. This is an extremely enjoyable and interesting read especially for historical fiction lovers. It had a strong story line and endearing central characters. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to any other fellow reader.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

After spending 6 months in in=patient treatment, Larkin was medically discharged from the U.S. Army having served two deployments in the Middle East. When a girl's father strapped explosives around her and detonated it to bring honor to her family, Larkin was injured and her best friend Sarah was killed. Sarah had left everything she had to Larkin. As Larkin made her way to her grandmother's on the West Coast, she stopped at Sarah's self-storage container. Among other things, Larkin found a diary written by Sarah's ancestor, Emily. Disguising herself as a man, Emily served beside her brother in the Civil War. As Larkin tried to recover from PTSD, she began to read Emily's diary. Through the entries found there, seeing that Emily suffered similar nightmares, Larkin began to heal. As you follow the lives of these two women, you will learn of the discrimination for women both then and now. You will also see two incredibly courageous women. and the intersection of their stories.

This is a fascinating story and gives the reader insight into what our military with PTSD go through when they return from deployment. Please be cautioned about the bad language Larkin uses.

This novel holds two storylines: one about Larkin and one about Emily. Both women became soldiers, made great friends in the army and suffered terrible losses. The Larkin-story is a contemporary one about an Afghanistan veteran and the Emily one is about a woman posing as a man during the Civil War. Both stories are connected.

In both storylines war trauma or even PTSD is a main theme. I am myself a European immigration lawyer and many refugees claim to suffer from PTSD so it was something I was interested in / wanted to know more about it. I discussed halfway down the novel the way this describes PTSD with a good friend of mine who is an American Vietnam veteran who I know still suffers from flashbacks. He said the book describes PTSD caused by a warsituation that well it must be written by someone who encountered it herself. So you can imagine how impressed I was to learn upon finishing the book that it was written by someone who was not in the military and who was not a veteran but just acquired the information by doing research.

As someone interested in history the story of women posing as men to be able to fight in the Civil War and all that would entail the story of Emily was my favourite part of the book. It also was well researched and very moving. I like how Emily's view on abolition and on fighting changed.

The part of the Afghan veteran Larking was very interested as far as the PTSD but I was a bit sceptic about the description of the treatment of female soldiers by American men and the Afghan army they had to train. I have met a lot of clients from the Islamic world and they do not sneer at me and also travelling I always was treated with respect. But the difference can be due to nationality or occupation. That what kills Sarah (I will not go into detail, you have to find out by yourself) is very very rarely done by women. So that part of the world felt more stereotypical described.

I am not a fan of a novel with two storylines. And here sometimes the Emily storyline and Larking reading the diary repeat what happens. But as both storylines are about the sufferings of soldiers the moment the soldiering starts both storylines support and strengthen each other.

I can surely recommend this book. It gives a good insight into the way we have to cope with traumatic events: nightmares, sadness, flashbacks. That can be due to a war but also due to illness or some other thing that left scars on the soul.

There is one thing I would like the publishers to warn about: the cover looks like a Dutch flag. As asked by the publishers I will wait with blogging about this book till a date closer to publishing.

Having loved the debut novel The Girl Who Wrote in Silk by Kelli Estes I have been eagerly anticipating getting hold of her new release Today We Go Home. Well I can emphatically say that it did not disappoint in any shape or form. I found it to be extremely compelling and binge reading worthy.
Today We Go Home alternates between the lives of Emily Wilson who enlists as a Union soldier disguised as a man Jesse Wilson during the Civil War and Larkin Bennet an Afghanistan war veteran. Kelli Estis really brought to the forefront the struggle and perseverance woman past and present have had to be treated as equal to men in order to serve their country. Both Emily and Larkin suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and have trouble acclimatizing to civilian lives once discharged from their duties.
If you love a book with attention to historical detail that is both informative and fascinating then I highly recommend you add Today We go Home to your read list. You will be happy you did!
I would like to thank Net Gallery, Sourcebooks Landmark and Kelli Estes for the ARC of Today We Go Home for my honest review.