How to Be Married after Iraq by Abby E. Murray

“Abby E. Murray‘s gorgeous, tough-and-tender poems challenge the insistently domestic and feminine sphere of military wifehood, where one must be “a woman more likely to help than hinder,” “portable as a jug of water” when “wartime calls like a drunk father.” At turns curious, affectionate, vigilant and deliciously mutinous, there is not a bad poem in this bunch. They are thoughtful but saber-sharp, laced with longing, delicate as wedding pearls and strong as a diamond band sent from Afghanistan, “carved from the earth and polished.”
–Andria Williams, author of The Longest Night

“Abby Murray‘s How to be Married after Iraq is it is incredible book of poems. In this work she captures all the fear and pressure military couples experience after repeated deployments. We already have books that deal with the soldier directly involved in the war, but this book explores the tensions and difficulties of the partner who remains behind. Abby Murray is a brilliant poet. The poems, which are polished and exquisite, leave us awestruck and often in tears. Such beauty, such grace in this major new voice in American poetry.”
–Maria Gillan, author of What We Pass On: Collected Poems 1980-2009