Alive Day by Karie Fugett is raw, powerful, and unforgettable. This memoir grabs you by the heart from page one and doesn’t let go. Fugett’s writing is fearless. She tells the truth without flinching, even when that truth is messy, painful, and inconvenient.

What begins as a love story between two lost young people quickly turns into a gut-wrenching account of caregiving, trauma, addiction, and survival. Karie’s journey (living in a car, becoming a wife and caregiver overnight, navigating the broken VA system, and battling the emotional toll of war injuries) feels both deeply personal and universally important.

Fugett brings dark humor and breathtaking honesty to the page. Her voice is fierce, vulnerable, and sharp. This book isn’t just about surviving, it’s about refusing to disappear, even when the world tells you you’re supposed to. A must-read for anyone who wants to understand what war really looks like beyond the battlefield.

Such an impactful and memorable debut book! I was so excited to be able to read this memoir and I felt the author did an incredible job of sharing her story with impressive openness. It was very eye opening how the military handles physical and mental health of their soldiers pre and post war. This was definitely an interesting and heartfelt story. I recommend this to all fans of memoirs especially illuminating ones such as this one.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review and feedback.

This was such a good memoir. One that I could easily relate to as I myself am a military spouse. I cried so much while reading this because I’ve experienced so many of the same things Karie did with Cleve. I also have so many friends who have served who have either taken their own life or suffer from severe PTSD. I think books like this are so important for people who don’t understand this life & all it entails. Karie told her story in such a raw, emotional, but honest way & I have so much respect & love for her. Extremely well done.

𝓘 𝓮𝓷𝓳𝓸𝔂𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓪𝓾𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓻𝓼 𝔀𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰. 𝓘 𝔀𝓪𝓼 𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓪 𝓭𝓮𝓮𝓹𝓮𝓻 𝓾𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓶𝓲𝓵𝓲𝓽𝓪𝓻𝔂 𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝔂 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓹𝓾𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓲𝓻 𝓯𝓪𝓶𝓲𝓵𝓲𝓮𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓯𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓼. 𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓼𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂 𝓘'𝓶 𝓼𝓾𝓻𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝔀𝓪𝓼 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓮𝓪𝓼𝔂 𝓽𝓸 𝓭𝓸.

This is an eye-opening memoir. The author is the spouse of an injured military serviceman. She gives her background growing up, how she met her husband in school before dropping out, their eventual marriage and its turmoil. The content of the book is traumatic, but the author writes in such an engaging way that I didn’t want to put it down.

One of the most heartbreaking experiences described in the book is when her husband is undergoing medical treatment after being injured in Afghanistan. The system set up to take care of injured service men and women is dysfunctional and puts undue burden upon family to support the injured. Those injured military members are then made to be social with politicians and celebrities who want photo ops.

Regardless of political beliefs, this book is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the true ramifications of the sacrifice military families make on behalf of America’s interests.

I don’t give out 5 stars easily but this book was a 5 star! I normally don’t read memoirs but this book was phenomenal.

I received a copy for review. All opinions are my own. I always wondered what it was like for the women who are dating or married to someone in the military and this book showed me just that. Karie’s story is one of both tragedy and strength. I felt like I was right there with her going through all the ups and downs in her life. She did an amazing job putting it all together in a book that can make others feel less alone when going through similar experiences. Definitely a great read!

Wow!! I went into this book blind, just having seen it as a Book of the Month pick, and I was blown away. I couldn't put it down. It was not a happily ever after story, so be prepared to read a real and raw memoir. I couldn't believe that this was Karie Fugett's debut novel as it was so hauntingly beautiful to read. I truly felt all of the emotions alongside Karie and Cleve, even when I knew what was coming. Karie's (and her husband's) story is one that needed to be told. It brought to the surface issues that many of us don't directly deal with and may be completely unaware of. It is eye opening and so sad to read about the realities those in the military and their spouses have to deal with all too often. At the very least, I hope this story inspires everyone to find their own "alive day"

Thank you to Netgalley, Karie Fugett and Random House Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Alive Day is a raw, powerful memoir that captures the emotional toll of war on a young couple. Both a love story and a heartbreaking account of grief, it offers a rare, intimate perspective from a military widow. Honest, haunting, and unforgettable. This book is a must-read!

4 stars; Alive Day is an immensely emotional story, highlighting the hardships and truths our American hero’s and their caregivers go thru. Karie’s memoir is full of pain, is unapologetically raw, and a complete story of losing and finding yourself. At times, the story seemed to repeat itself and felt like a middle school girl’s journal, but I had to remind myself I was reading a memoir, a real story about someone else’s turmoil. This story made me feel every emotion; I felt the highs and the lows like I was right along side Karie and Cleve, I felt myself tearing up at times, other times I was rooting for them as a couple, then the next chapter I was questioning why she was doing what she was doing. This memoir depicted Karie’s resilience and strength. This book will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group, and the author for the opportunity to read this book early.

This is the story of love, sacrifice, and survival of the soldier but also the spouse and caregiver that must find her own “alive day.” It’s a heartbreaking story of what our soldiers go through, but also their spouses.

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I am really glad I read Karie Fugett’s memoir, Alive Day. Something I love about reading memoirs is the opportunity to learn from people with life experiences that are very different from my own. Learning about Fugett’s experience as a young military wife was so different from my own life at 20.

“I was starting to wonder if this had been part of our country’s plan all along: let poor people struggle to survive so that when the time comes, they can be lured into the military by the promise of food and healthcare and shelter in exchange for using their bodies to protect the rich and powerful.”

Thank you to the publisher for the free book to review.

Alive Day by Karie Fugett (book cover is in image) is a memoir about the challenges of being a military wife. Describing the sacrifices wives and soldiers make and the challenges they face during and after military deployments, this memoir tells an all too familiar and timely story given the current political environment, and how current changes will further impact the ability for these families to live full and happy lives.

The writing itself felt disjointed and there was some significant repetition, but overall a good read and I do recommend it for those who want to learn about the challenges that military members and their families go through.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Random House | The Dial Press for the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Audiobook Rating: 3 Stars
Pub Date: May 06 2025

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memoirs have my heart. and this one about a military wife made me emotional while opening my eyes/. We have family friends were are in the DOD and so much of this rings true to what we have heard over conversations over the years.

I think whenever someone shows vulnerability and opens up to a world that others don't know about, it's incredible.
I marvel at Karie's strength. Honestly, resilience is what I would use instead of strength.

Highly recommend this emotionally charged, beautifully written memoir. These are the ones that open up your empathy and help you readjust your own challenges

This was such an emotional and raw memoir, bringing to light many issues people don’t know about within the military/ government. I can’t thank Karie enough for sharing her story, also for allowing me to read this book early.

As a military spouse this book brings up topics that I had some familiarity with, but this book was heart wrenching. 💔

For graduate school I did my dissertation on the Department of Veterans Affairs. This is sad how many soldiers were prescribed opiates instead of receiving the necessary therapy they needed. With fundings cut the last few months, how many necessary treatments are going to be cut for veterans. I’m glad this book is eye opening to civilians who have never been around the military.

Thank you for speaking the truths of the military and veterans health systems and the lack of care both active duty and veteran service members receive. We have been struggling to get my husband proper care for a work-related injury for years and still get the run around. 🇺🇸✈️

I always find memoirs hard to review because the author is sharing their own life experiences.

Alive Day tells of the relationship between Karie Fugett and her husband, Cleve. Cleve was a Marine serving in Afghanistan when he was injured by an IED, which later resulted in him losing his leg. As part of his recovery, Cleve was given pain killers that led to drug abuse of the opioids he was prescribed.

Karie's memoir of their relationship highlights the struggle spouses of armed forces members go through, whether it be as a medical aid when they're home or the loneliness felt when they're overseas. Also it shows the neglect of the government for these soldiers once they've done their duty serving the government. Many of these soldiers are left to survive on their own with little to no assistance from the government relying on aid from nonprofits to help pick up the slack. I will be honest that none of this was extremely new information to me.

While I appreciate the narrative format of the memoir, I did find it rambling at times. There were times when the writing seemed to lack cohesion. Karie does have a writing style that keeps the reader engaged with the material. At times it also felt repetitive, which I didn't personally enjoy. I think the point could have been brought across in a better manner without being so redundant. Overall I wish there was more grounded truth in her story with statistics that only came at the very end.

Thank you to Dial Press and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for review consideration.

This memoir that Karie so graciously shared with the world is raw and powerful. It shares the truth about their struggles as teens coping with poverty family struggles and then Cleve losing his leg during his second deployment. This is a powerful story and I hope everyone in America will take the time to read it as well. 5 Stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the eARC.

This book is heartbreaking and a raw depiction of what life is like for so many Americans. You can feel the true love through all of the pages, but my god this book hurts.

If you are a fan of memoirs, Alive Day by Karie Fugett is one to watch out for. It was a great read that will tug on your heartstrings!