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Dependent
When forty-five year old Ellen Michaels looses her husband to a tragic military accident, she is left in a world of grey. For twenty-five years her life has been dictated by the ubiquitous They—the military establishment that has stolen her hopes, dreams, and innocence and now in mere months will take away her home. She is left with nothing to hold on to but memories and guilt and an awful secret that has held her in its grip since she was nineteen.
Written with honesty and grace, Dependent deals head on with real-life issues facing women in military communities today: loss, loneliness, frequent moves, the culture of rank and the specter of sexual assault. It presents a heartfelt view of the sacrifice and strength of the often invisible support behind the uniform.
Written with honesty and grace, Dependent deals head on with real-life issues facing women in military communities today: loss, loneliness, frequent moves, the culture of rank and the specter of sexual assault. It presents a heartfelt view of the sacrifice and strength of the often invisible support behind the uniform.
- GenresFiction
260 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
1 person is currently reading
286 people want to read
About the author
Brenda Corey Dunne
4 books45 followersBrenda Corey Dunne grew up in rural New Brunswick, Canada. She originally trained as a physiotherapist and worked several years as a Physiotherapy Officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force before meeting the love of her life and taking her release.
She completed her first full length manuscript in 2008 as a bucket-list item and since then she has self-published a work of YA historical fiction (TREASURE IN THE FLAME). DEPENDENT, an adult contemporary fiction, was published by Jolly Fish Press in July of 2014. SKIN, a YA paranormal, was published in June of 2016. She has several other manuscripts in various stages of completion. Brenda is represented by Frances Black of Literary Counsel.
When not working as a physiotherapist or writing, Brenda can be found juggling taxi-mom duties, working in the garden or strolling through the horse paddock with a coffee in hand. She currently resides on on Vancouver Island with her husband and their three children.
She completed her first full length manuscript in 2008 as a bucket-list item and since then she has self-published a work of YA historical fiction (TREASURE IN THE FLAME). DEPENDENT, an adult contemporary fiction, was published by Jolly Fish Press in July of 2014. SKIN, a YA paranormal, was published in June of 2016. She has several other manuscripts in various stages of completion. Brenda is represented by Frances Black of Literary Counsel.
When not working as a physiotherapist or writing, Brenda can be found juggling taxi-mom duties, working in the garden or strolling through the horse paddock with a coffee in hand. She currently resides on on Vancouver Island with her husband and their three children.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 8, 2014
Synopsis: "When 45-year-old Ellen Michaels loses her husband to a tragic military accident, she is left in a world of gray. For 25 years her life has been dictated by the ubiquitous They—the military establishment that has included her like chattel with John’s worldly goods—his Dependents, Furniture, and Effects. They—who have stolen her hopes, her dreams and her innocence, and now in mere months will take away the roof over her head. Ellen is left with nothing to hold on to but memories and guilt and an awful secret that has held her in its grip since she was 19. John’s untimely death takes away her anchor, and now, without the military, there is no one to tell her where to go, what to do— no one to dictate who she is. Dependent deals with issues ever-present in today’s service families—early marriage, frequent long absences, the culture of rank, and posttraumatic stress, as well as harassment and abuse of power by higher-ranking officials. It presents a raw and realistic view of life for the lives of the invisible support behind the uniform."
My Review: This was such an emotionally difficult, yet beautiful book to read. I spent so much of the time reading this book in tears, angry or feeling like I was alone. Kudos to Dunne for allowing me to feel those emotions right along with Ellen. There is definitely a tribute to the support behind our military men and women, while all families might not suffer quite as much as Ellen did, there is still that struggle to put on the all is good voice so that the military members don't worry and can focus on the job at hand while away from home. While it was a struggle to follow Ellen through her loss, it was great to see her start to blossom with the support of her children and friends and find the strength she had all along but felt she had lost.
My Review: This was such an emotionally difficult, yet beautiful book to read. I spent so much of the time reading this book in tears, angry or feeling like I was alone. Kudos to Dunne for allowing me to feel those emotions right along with Ellen. There is definitely a tribute to the support behind our military men and women, while all families might not suffer quite as much as Ellen did, there is still that struggle to put on the all is good voice so that the military members don't worry and can focus on the job at hand while away from home. While it was a struggle to follow Ellen through her loss, it was great to see her start to blossom with the support of her children and friends and find the strength she had all along but felt she had lost.
January 30, 2015
I want to really like this novel. The premise was very good, but the writing needs work.
The story is about the wife of an Air Force pilot, Ellen Michaels. As the book opens, Ellen learns that John, her husband of 24 or 25 years (more on dating problems later), has died in an accident. The story then flashes back to when Ellen first met John in high school. Chapters alternate between widowed Ellen dealing with her loss and young Ellen and John courting, marrying, and starting a family (not necessarily in that order). Early on, Ellen is raped by a senior officer, Frank Fielding, who threatens John's career if she talks. Fielding shows up in her life every few years with similar threats. A year after John's death, Ellen meets someone from her past and starts to face the feelings of fear, grief, and guilt that have plagued her. The entire novel is narrated by Ellen in the present tense, which is a bit jarring since the story is not told chronologically.
To provide context for this review, I need to give some personal background. My father was in the Canadian Forces. I grew up moving from base to base. I also served in the military for 11 years and then retired to a civilian job. I also lost a spouse in my mid-40s. So I can relate to Ellen's military life and to the upheaval of a mid-life loss.
A key theme here is the life of a military spouse. Ellen is often left alone for days or weeks at a time while her husband is on missions. She is forced to move every couple of years and has only one or two close friends. She has no one to reveal her secrets to. She loves John deeply, and he loves her. They have the usual squabbles, but overall are a happy couple, or as happy as they can be without a steady home. But when John dies, Ellen realizes the military no longer has any purpose for her; she is part of John's "dependents, furniture, and effects". She must move out of her military-provided home within a year. John wasn't the only one who sacrificed a normal life for his country, and Ellen rightly feels the system has not been kind to her.
Another theme is that of rape and harassment and a woman's inability to tell anyone what's happened. The power imbalance is frightening and debilitating. Ellen feels completely abandoned and without recourse. In light of the recent Jian Ghomeshi and Bill Cosby stories, this sub-plot is quite timely.
Within the context of this plot and these themes, the story is good. There are some emotionally intense and powerful scenes, such as Ellen's wedding, her first Christmas with her children after John's death, and the novel's climax. Sometimes, however, the story strays into melodrama reminiscent of a soap opera or a romance novel. Some plot points depend on highly unlikely coincidences. Ellen's highs and lows seems overwrought at times. I did like the way the story was resolved. It could have gone in an unbelievable direction, but author Brenda Corey Dunne kept it realistic.
I could have overlooked the slightly overheated nature of the plot if the writing had been better. I have four main issues with the writing. First: the dates. Every chapter is dated with a month and year, ranging from October 1980 to June 2009. It's possible from the dates and story details to figure out when off-stage events happened. The book gets Ellen's kids' ages wrong, gets the length of her marriage wrong, and gets the intervals between attacks by Fielding wrong. This doesn't affect the story, but if you're going to include dates and ages, make sure they're consistent.
My second issue is the military details: Ellen gets pregnant right out of high school, before John enters military college. By the time he graduates, she has two children. The impression is given that the military college supported John and his growing family, possibly by giving them living quarters. I went to military college in the 1980s, and while it was not unheard of for a cadet to have a child, it certainly wasn't condoned and cadets were not permitted to live with their wives or girlfriends. Fielding is introduced as a Lieutenant Colonel, which puts him in his late 30s or early 40s, in 1983, and is still serving, as a General, in 2009. That's a military career of over four decades, which seems unlikely, although it's perhaps not impossible.
My third issue: location. Dunne is Canadian, served in the Canadian Forces, and is married to a Royal Canadian Air Force officer. I naturally expected the story to be set in Canada. Yet the book never once mentions what cities, bases, or even country Ellen and John lived in. It could be Canada or the U.S. I suspect Dunne set the story in Canada but her publisher asked her to make it generic so it would sell better in America. But this leads to all sorts of odd details. Hockey (popular Canadian sport) is mentioned often, but football (popular American sport) never is. John works for the "Department of National Defense" (Canadian, but with the American spelling of "defense"). Military cadets have red dress uniforms (like they do in Canada but don't in America). Sometimes it's a "military college" (Canadian term), and sometimes it's a "military academy" (American term). There are separate colleges for the Army and the Air Force (American; Canada has tri-service colleges). I have no firm idea where this novel is supposed to be taking place.
Finally, Dunne's writing needs more polish and editing. I noted at least two odd spellings: "Gees" instead of the more common "jeez" as an expression of exasperation. "Pee-on" instead of "peon" for a person with low status. The first-person, present-tense narration allows for more relaxed and colloquial language, and certainly draws you into Ellen's inner world, but it makes the other characters barely more than cardboard cutouts. John is basically a puppy: loving but clueless. Fielding is pure evil. Another character who enters mid-way is too good to be true. We know nothing about any of their motives. Ellen's voice doesn't seem to change much between the ages of 14 and 45; I'd expect older Ellen to have a different tone and outlook than teenage Ellen, but they sound the same. The overall style can get a bit breathless at times. And when Ellen is mad, she. Talks. In. One. Word. Sentences.
I think women will like this book better than men, and people with little military experience will like it better than those who have lived a military life. Those who pay attention to little details like dates and character ages will be annoyed and distracted from what is otherwise an engrossing story of struggle, loss, and growth.
The story is about the wife of an Air Force pilot, Ellen Michaels. As the book opens, Ellen learns that John, her husband of 24 or 25 years (more on dating problems later), has died in an accident. The story then flashes back to when Ellen first met John in high school. Chapters alternate between widowed Ellen dealing with her loss and young Ellen and John courting, marrying, and starting a family (not necessarily in that order). Early on, Ellen is raped by a senior officer, Frank Fielding, who threatens John's career if she talks. Fielding shows up in her life every few years with similar threats. A year after John's death, Ellen meets someone from her past and starts to face the feelings of fear, grief, and guilt that have plagued her. The entire novel is narrated by Ellen in the present tense, which is a bit jarring since the story is not told chronologically.
To provide context for this review, I need to give some personal background. My father was in the Canadian Forces. I grew up moving from base to base. I also served in the military for 11 years and then retired to a civilian job. I also lost a spouse in my mid-40s. So I can relate to Ellen's military life and to the upheaval of a mid-life loss.
A key theme here is the life of a military spouse. Ellen is often left alone for days or weeks at a time while her husband is on missions. She is forced to move every couple of years and has only one or two close friends. She has no one to reveal her secrets to. She loves John deeply, and he loves her. They have the usual squabbles, but overall are a happy couple, or as happy as they can be without a steady home. But when John dies, Ellen realizes the military no longer has any purpose for her; she is part of John's "dependents, furniture, and effects". She must move out of her military-provided home within a year. John wasn't the only one who sacrificed a normal life for his country, and Ellen rightly feels the system has not been kind to her.
Another theme is that of rape and harassment and a woman's inability to tell anyone what's happened. The power imbalance is frightening and debilitating. Ellen feels completely abandoned and without recourse. In light of the recent Jian Ghomeshi and Bill Cosby stories, this sub-plot is quite timely.
Within the context of this plot and these themes, the story is good. There are some emotionally intense and powerful scenes, such as Ellen's wedding, her first Christmas with her children after John's death, and the novel's climax. Sometimes, however, the story strays into melodrama reminiscent of a soap opera or a romance novel. Some plot points depend on highly unlikely coincidences. Ellen's highs and lows seems overwrought at times. I did like the way the story was resolved. It could have gone in an unbelievable direction, but author Brenda Corey Dunne kept it realistic.
I could have overlooked the slightly overheated nature of the plot if the writing had been better. I have four main issues with the writing. First: the dates. Every chapter is dated with a month and year, ranging from October 1980 to June 2009. It's possible from the dates and story details to figure out when off-stage events happened. The book gets Ellen's kids' ages wrong, gets the length of her marriage wrong, and gets the intervals between attacks by Fielding wrong. This doesn't affect the story, but if you're going to include dates and ages, make sure they're consistent.
My second issue is the military details: Ellen gets pregnant right out of high school, before John enters military college. By the time he graduates, she has two children. The impression is given that the military college supported John and his growing family, possibly by giving them living quarters. I went to military college in the 1980s, and while it was not unheard of for a cadet to have a child, it certainly wasn't condoned and cadets were not permitted to live with their wives or girlfriends. Fielding is introduced as a Lieutenant Colonel, which puts him in his late 30s or early 40s, in 1983, and is still serving, as a General, in 2009. That's a military career of over four decades, which seems unlikely, although it's perhaps not impossible.
My third issue: location. Dunne is Canadian, served in the Canadian Forces, and is married to a Royal Canadian Air Force officer. I naturally expected the story to be set in Canada. Yet the book never once mentions what cities, bases, or even country Ellen and John lived in. It could be Canada or the U.S. I suspect Dunne set the story in Canada but her publisher asked her to make it generic so it would sell better in America. But this leads to all sorts of odd details. Hockey (popular Canadian sport) is mentioned often, but football (popular American sport) never is. John works for the "Department of National Defense" (Canadian, but with the American spelling of "defense"). Military cadets have red dress uniforms (like they do in Canada but don't in America). Sometimes it's a "military college" (Canadian term), and sometimes it's a "military academy" (American term). There are separate colleges for the Army and the Air Force (American; Canada has tri-service colleges). I have no firm idea where this novel is supposed to be taking place.
Finally, Dunne's writing needs more polish and editing. I noted at least two odd spellings: "Gees" instead of the more common "jeez" as an expression of exasperation. "Pee-on" instead of "peon" for a person with low status. The first-person, present-tense narration allows for more relaxed and colloquial language, and certainly draws you into Ellen's inner world, but it makes the other characters barely more than cardboard cutouts. John is basically a puppy: loving but clueless. Fielding is pure evil. Another character who enters mid-way is too good to be true. We know nothing about any of their motives. Ellen's voice doesn't seem to change much between the ages of 14 and 45; I'd expect older Ellen to have a different tone and outlook than teenage Ellen, but they sound the same. The overall style can get a bit breathless at times. And when Ellen is mad, she. Talks. In. One. Word. Sentences.
I think women will like this book better than men, and people with little military experience will like it better than those who have lived a military life. Those who pay attention to little details like dates and character ages will be annoyed and distracted from what is otherwise an engrossing story of struggle, loss, and growth.
January 10, 2015
I was hesitant to read this book at first because I knew it would be emotional. I let it sit for a few months on my Kindle until I was ready to read it. WOW! Can I just say what a powerful novel this was and so brave. Whether or not you understand the military life or not I think everyone who reads this book will relate to Ellen. We've all felt the same emotions that she has of self-doubt, fear, loss, anger, betrayal, love, etc. We may not have experienced the same things that she did but we know those emotions.
I don't think I've hated a character since Harry Potter's Umbridge like I despised Fieldings. I will let you discover for yourself as I don't want to give any spoilers away.
If I take one thing away from reading Dependent is that each person matters. We should never let anything control our lives. We should be brave and stand up for those things which are right and true. Love is an important thing to have in our lives. It moves us forward.
Author Brenda Dunne painted such a beautiful story with raw emotions. I was immersed in the life of Ellen and I cried when she cried. I laughed when she laughed. The details and the written emotion were beautiful. Thank you for writing this book and giving a voice to things that need to be heard. I highly recommend reading this book. It's heavy but beautiful. Have some tissues handy.
I don't think I've hated a character since Harry Potter's Umbridge like I despised Fieldings. I will let you discover for yourself as I don't want to give any spoilers away.
If I take one thing away from reading Dependent is that each person matters. We should never let anything control our lives. We should be brave and stand up for those things which are right and true. Love is an important thing to have in our lives. It moves us forward.
Author Brenda Dunne painted such a beautiful story with raw emotions. I was immersed in the life of Ellen and I cried when she cried. I laughed when she laughed. The details and the written emotion were beautiful. Thank you for writing this book and giving a voice to things that need to be heard. I highly recommend reading this book. It's heavy but beautiful. Have some tissues handy.
May 23, 2014
I found myself very raw after reading this book. It is so thought provoking and honest. As a military spouse I realized I carry latent feelings of regret, denial, and guilt because of my husband's career choice. That is a lot of baggage. Dependent allowed me to go through that baggage piece by piece in a healthy, constructive way.
The story is well written, engrossing and evocative. There are themes of loss, guilt, coping, survival, strength and perseverance. The main character is multi-dimensional and well developed. As military spouses tend to do she makes the impossible possible and thrives.
The story is well written, engrossing and evocative. There are themes of loss, guilt, coping, survival, strength and perseverance. The main character is multi-dimensional and well developed. As military spouses tend to do she makes the impossible possible and thrives.
November 16, 2014
What a fabulous journey! The emotion is very raw. I cried for the first three chapters, and couldn't put it down. It gives you the fear's of an airman from the perspective of someone he loves. Difficult to read at times, but definitely provocative. A well-written journey into some of the darkest fears of a military couple.
July 26, 2014
Dependent, the stunning new novel by Brenda Corey Dunne, is an unusual coming of age story about a forty-five year old woman finding herself after making hard choices at nineteen that set the course of her life.
Ellen Michaels has been an officer’s wife for twenty-five years. Living in the military’s shadow, all of Ellen’s decisions have been influenced by her husband John’s career—where she lives, what she does, and who her friends are—as well as the choices she makes to protect her family. Lumped in with John’s worldly goods as “dependents, furniture, and effects,” it’s profoundly shocking for Ellen to discover that with John’s death her future is her own again.
Much of Dependent is told in flashback, and we see Ellen grow from a young teen to a mature woman. We see the struggles every young mother faces and typical challenges even the best marriages go through. With John’s death we see the devastating effect of losing a partner and father. But Ellen also has a terrible secret she’s kept for twenty-five years, and she fears this secret is what killed her husband.
Told from an insider’s perspective, everything from early marriages, frequent moves, and long absences to the culture of rank and stiff upper lip is vividly portrayed. It’s these military culture conventions—and the idea that everything is happy, happy, happy!—that keep Ellen prisoner until she finally realizes that she independent and powerful.
And when she does you’re going to want to stand up and cheer.
But I’m not going to spoil it!
Ellen Michaels has been an officer’s wife for twenty-five years. Living in the military’s shadow, all of Ellen’s decisions have been influenced by her husband John’s career—where she lives, what she does, and who her friends are—as well as the choices she makes to protect her family. Lumped in with John’s worldly goods as “dependents, furniture, and effects,” it’s profoundly shocking for Ellen to discover that with John’s death her future is her own again.
Much of Dependent is told in flashback, and we see Ellen grow from a young teen to a mature woman. We see the struggles every young mother faces and typical challenges even the best marriages go through. With John’s death we see the devastating effect of losing a partner and father. But Ellen also has a terrible secret she’s kept for twenty-five years, and she fears this secret is what killed her husband.
Told from an insider’s perspective, everything from early marriages, frequent moves, and long absences to the culture of rank and stiff upper lip is vividly portrayed. It’s these military culture conventions—and the idea that everything is happy, happy, happy!—that keep Ellen prisoner until she finally realizes that she independent and powerful.
And when she does you’re going to want to stand up and cheer.
But I’m not going to spoil it!
January 16, 2015
I knew I wanted to read this book from the moment I heard Brenda Corey Dunne was working it. And Dependent delivers a powerful story: from the first all-too-real moments through every page of Ellen Michaels’ journey of conflict to a final conclusion. Ellen is abruptly confronted with the death of her Air Force pilot husband of twenty-four years, her high school sweetheart John Michaels. The story balances between a teenage Ellen who falls in love and the newly-widowed Ellen as she navigates confusion and fear of an all-too-real obsessive danger that follows her through the earlier years into present-day. Woven into the fabric of this story is the sweetness of young love, the challenge of stickhandling domestic crisis, and hidden secrets.
The most compelling part of this book is biting insight Corey Dunne brings to Ellen’s pain and loneliness of loss. Ellen who knows it’s useless but still yearns for the sound of John’s car coming to the house. Ellen, who is comforted and supported by friends and adult children, but somehow it’s not enough. In those rudderless moments springs both a seed of hope, and a hunter who continues to stalk his prey. Only in the final pages do we also discover the secret demons that have haunted Ellen.
Corey Dunne knows how to keep the reader riveted from the first page to a suspenseful and breathtaking finish. It’s fresh, contemporary, and gripping. As a former military officer and a current military spouse, Corey Dunne also has a good sense of how “the system” works.
The most compelling part of this book is biting insight Corey Dunne brings to Ellen’s pain and loneliness of loss. Ellen who knows it’s useless but still yearns for the sound of John’s car coming to the house. Ellen, who is comforted and supported by friends and adult children, but somehow it’s not enough. In those rudderless moments springs both a seed of hope, and a hunter who continues to stalk his prey. Only in the final pages do we also discover the secret demons that have haunted Ellen.
Corey Dunne knows how to keep the reader riveted from the first page to a suspenseful and breathtaking finish. It’s fresh, contemporary, and gripping. As a former military officer and a current military spouse, Corey Dunne also has a good sense of how “the system” works.
November 15, 2014
Inherent in a nation’s military is the development of a command and control structure enabling the nation to direct it’s military forces toward the successful achievement of assigned missions. The upside is that given an adequate, well trained and provisioned force, the system usually works well. The downside is that vesting control in a hierarchical command and control structure can lead to abuses… endangering the very missions and lives of members of the military force, with consequences for the members and their families. "Dependent" deals with the dilemma of a dependent wife who sacrifices all… body and spirit, to protect her military husband from the danger threatened by a rogue command superior officer. "Dependent"Brenda Corey Dunne is an insightful and thought provoking work of fiction, written with the perspectives gained by the author, former military officer Brenda Corey Dunne, wife of a long serving and ranking member of the RCAF. Read this book !
David B. Strong; Captain, JAGC, US Navy, Retired.
David B. Strong; Captain, JAGC, US Navy, Retired.
September 14, 2014
I truly enjoyed this book from start to finish. I had been warned that tissue may be required as it evokes a lot of raw emotion and it certainly does - right from the first chapter.
The story was engaging and draws you in from the very first chapter. I found it difficult to put the book down.
Although I am not a military spouse I lived in a military community for 12 years as a civilian so most of my friends and neighbours are/were military. I saw so much of them and bits of their lives in this book. I found I could very much relate to Ellen's friend who felt helpless knowing something was wrong while trying to respect Ellen's desire to keep parts of her life private.
Prior to reading the book I was unsure if this would be something I would be able to recommend to my civilian friends. Having now read it, I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick-paced emotional read, whether they are connected to the military community or not. It is an impressive piece of work written by Brenda Corey Dunne.
The story was engaging and draws you in from the very first chapter. I found it difficult to put the book down.
Although I am not a military spouse I lived in a military community for 12 years as a civilian so most of my friends and neighbours are/were military. I saw so much of them and bits of their lives in this book. I found I could very much relate to Ellen's friend who felt helpless knowing something was wrong while trying to respect Ellen's desire to keep parts of her life private.
Prior to reading the book I was unsure if this would be something I would be able to recommend to my civilian friends. Having now read it, I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick-paced emotional read, whether they are connected to the military community or not. It is an impressive piece of work written by Brenda Corey Dunne.
August 22, 2014
Dependent by Brenda Corey Dunne is an amazing story. I was riveted from the very first words. The story was so emotional and just ripped at my heart from beginning to end. I wanted to be able to reach out to Ellen. This story felt so raw, so real and so heart-breaking. I cried frequently while reading. This is an incredibly well-written story full of raw emotion. As intense as the story was, I found myself wanting to stay with Ellen a bit longer at the end. You owe it to yourself to pick up this book. 5+ Stars.
I received a paperback ARC for review purposes. However, this did not influence my review.
I received a paperback ARC for review purposes. However, this did not influence my review.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews