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Dinner with the Smileys: One Military Family, One Year of Heroes, and Lessons for a Lifetime
by Sarah Smiley
Published: 2013-05-07
Hardcover : 368 pages
Hardcover : 368 pages
4 members reading this now
8 clubs reading this now
4 members have read this book
8 clubs reading this now
4 members have read this book
The uplifting true story of a wife and mother's yearlong experience inviting one new guest (from senators to school teachers, artists to professional athletes) to dinner for each week that her husband was deployed overseas.
But DINNER WITH THE SMILEYS isn't really about dinner. And ...
But DINNER WITH THE SMILEYS isn't really about dinner. And ...
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Introduction
The uplifting true story of a wife and mother's yearlong experience inviting one new guest (from senators to school teachers, artists to professional athletes) to dinner for each week that her husband was deployed overseas.
But DINNER WITH THE SMILEYS isn't really about dinner. And it's not about the military. It's about 250 strangers who came together to help raise three boys (one of the cusp of adolescence) in the absence of their father. It's a love story about marriage, motherhood, and the power of community.
Inside this personal story are the universal issues of loss, grief, loneliness, regrets, sacrifice, and, ultimately, unexpected joy and finding one's own strength.
See the book trailer on Sarah's Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/Sarah-Smiley/e/B001IR1MT2/
But DINNER WITH THE SMILEYS isn't really about dinner. And it's not about the military. It's about 250 strangers who came together to help raise three boys (one of the cusp of adolescence) in the absence of their father. It's a love story about marriage, motherhood, and the power of community.
Inside this personal story are the universal issues of loss, grief, loneliness, regrets, sacrifice, and, ultimately, unexpected joy and finding one's own strength.
See the book trailer on Sarah's Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/Sarah-Smiley/e/B001IR1MT2/
Discussion Questions
Suggested by Members
How did you keep your family engaged with one another during deployment?
What kind of activities for children of varying ages helped your family during deployments?
by GrandmaNaNa (see profile) 07/15/13Book Club Recommendations
Recommended to book clubs by 2 of 2 members.
Supporting Military Families
by ProudMilitaryMom (see profile) 07/24/14I\'m presently reading \"Dinner with the Smiley\'s\" By Sarah Smiley, Although I\'m only half way through this heartwarming book about a military wife and her three young son\'s yearlong experience of inviting one new guest, from senator\'s to school teachers to fill her deployed husbands seat at their dinner table every week! Just like the Smiley\'s I cannot wait to meet their next dinner guest! What a clever way this mom discovered to focus on dinners, family & friends during deployment.
MOMS ~ Keep your tissues handy!
I only wish there were more books written with such heart warming supportive ideas for military families.
Creative ways to Create Memories for Your Family
by GrandmaNaNa (see profile) 07/15/13The meal often mentioned in the story was spaghetti, salad and garlic bread. This would be symbolic to serve and easy too. Discuss ways your families dealt with the issue of deployments or temporary separations.
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