RISE, A Modern Guide for the Purpose Driven Woman Winter 2014 | Page 28

her boyfriend or family is too much of
a risk to stir up that pity from them,
which is why she does not plan on
ever speaking to them about it. Anne
knows she needs help, but she does not
know where to start. To her friends,
family and boyfriend, Anne is strong,
indestructible, and free-thinking. They
do not suspect the struggle beneath the
skin, hidden in invisible boots, which
she can never take off. Anne will find a
way to overcome her struggle.
The challenges that Adrian and Anne
are facing are the new face of the female veteran. Female veterans today,
in 2014, are dealing with problem
sets that were exclusive to men in the
previous Baby Boomer generation.
Women are no longer as favored in
some states as men for custody of
a child. Women have worked their
way into the “Good ‘ole Boy” system
in a man’s world, to the point that
Generation X and younger women
are not as distinguishable from the
young men in the workforce. Women
are being allowed in certain branches
of service to serve in combat roles.

The visage of the female veteran will
never be the same. Many of them,
suffering just as often as their male
veteran counterparts from Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD),
struggle to find themsel fW2