Celebrating Memorial Day: Honoring Veterans and Their Families

Terri Barnes, columnist for Stars & Stripes and author of Spouse Calls: Messages from a Military Life, as well as her daughter, Jessie Barnes, illustrator of Coloring My Military Life (coloring book), will be at Main Street Reads this Saturday, May 25, to meet readers and sign copies of their books as we dedicate the weekend’s theme to honoring our military families. AND, during our weekend hours, military members, veterans, spouses and children will all enjoy 10% off any purchase in the store!

We’ll be open Saturday and Sunday, then will close for the Memorial Day holiday,

In Spouse Calls: Messages From a Military Life, Terri takes readers beyond the headlines and homecoming videos for an inside look at the day-to-day hardships, victories, and many ways military life shapes, challenges, and enriches its families.

Through poignant personal stories, incisive interviews, and emotive reflections, Terri s military life columns create an historical snapshot of American and world affairs, preserving an important piece of our nation’s culture.

About her book, Terri says, “My hometown isn’t a geographical location, but a place in American culture that is invisible to many people. My family lives in the hometown of military installations and military communities. This book is the story of the people we know and the life we live in the neighborhood of our American military life.”

Coloring My Military Life – Book 2 features level-two coloring pages with hand-lettering, patterns and designs, and more complex scenes especially appealing to older children, teens, and adults. Best friends, a new school day, air shows, and inventory stickers – these coloring pages are packed with meaningful scenes on many aspects of military life.

“Designing this coloring book is a project that has been close to my heart, because the military community is, in itself, a sense of home for me,” says illustrator Jessie Barnes. “While I poured my own military life experiences and ideas into the artwork, my intent is for others to see themselves when they open these pages.”