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Alive Day: A Memoir
A searing, unflinchingly intimate memoir about one young couple caught up in the machinery of America's military system, learning to live and love through war and all that comes after
"Astonishing. Both a love story and a gripping account of the cost of war from the unique perspective of a military widow, Alive Day serves as a crucial reminder of the aftermath of war and the kids left to clean up the mess."--Stephanie Land, bestselling author of Maid and Class
Karie Fugett is living out of her car in a Kmart parking lot when her boyfriend Cleve suggests “Maybe we could get married or somethin’.” Karie says yes out of love, but also out of convenience. As a twenty-year-old high school dropout who ran away from her family and recently lost her job, Karie has nowhere else to turn. Just months after they elope, Cleve’s Marine unit is deployed to Iraq. Then Karie gets the Cleve’s Humvee has been hit by an IED, and he’s suffered severe injuries.
Karie rushes to Walter Reed, where she’s told it’s a miracle that her husband has survived. “Happy Alive Day, man,” a fellow vet says to Cleve, explaining that the date will always be marked as the day he was given a second chance at life. Newlyweds barely out of their teens, Karie and Cleve are thrust into utterly foreign roles. Karie tries to adapt to her job as a caregiver, navigating the labyrinthine system of veterans affairs, hospital bureaucracy, and doctors who do little more than shrug when she raises concerns about Cleve’s dependency on painkillers. It is clear to Karie that Cleve is using opiates to dull a pain that is more than physical. She catches his first overdose, but what if she can’t save him a second time? Will she still be able to save herself?
Fugett’s story depicts an oft-overlooked reality of the experience of the many thousands of caregivers and spouses—mostly women, mostly young, mostly poor—whose lives have been shattered by battles fought against enemies abroad and against addiction at home. Tender, vivid, and laced with dark humor, Alive Day is at once an epic and engrossing love story, a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, and a powerful indictment of the sins of a nation.
"Astonishing. Both a love story and a gripping account of the cost of war from the unique perspective of a military widow, Alive Day serves as a crucial reminder of the aftermath of war and the kids left to clean up the mess."--Stephanie Land, bestselling author of Maid and Class
Karie Fugett is living out of her car in a Kmart parking lot when her boyfriend Cleve suggests “Maybe we could get married or somethin’.” Karie says yes out of love, but also out of convenience. As a twenty-year-old high school dropout who ran away from her family and recently lost her job, Karie has nowhere else to turn. Just months after they elope, Cleve’s Marine unit is deployed to Iraq. Then Karie gets the Cleve’s Humvee has been hit by an IED, and he’s suffered severe injuries.
Karie rushes to Walter Reed, where she’s told it’s a miracle that her husband has survived. “Happy Alive Day, man,” a fellow vet says to Cleve, explaining that the date will always be marked as the day he was given a second chance at life. Newlyweds barely out of their teens, Karie and Cleve are thrust into utterly foreign roles. Karie tries to adapt to her job as a caregiver, navigating the labyrinthine system of veterans affairs, hospital bureaucracy, and doctors who do little more than shrug when she raises concerns about Cleve’s dependency on painkillers. It is clear to Karie that Cleve is using opiates to dull a pain that is more than physical. She catches his first overdose, but what if she can’t save him a second time? Will she still be able to save herself?
Fugett’s story depicts an oft-overlooked reality of the experience of the many thousands of caregivers and spouses—mostly women, mostly young, mostly poor—whose lives have been shattered by battles fought against enemies abroad and against addiction at home. Tender, vivid, and laced with dark humor, Alive Day is at once an epic and engrossing love story, a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, and a powerful indictment of the sins of a nation.
336 pages, Hardcover
Published May 6, 2025
147 people are currently reading
14948 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 479 reviews
August 26, 2024
Oooooh, just enjoying the feeling of a 5 star rating while I can.
March 25, 2025
This was an honest and illuminating memoir about being a military wife at a young age- and so much more. Karie had a challenging childhood to begin with, moving lots of times and having to make new friends. Her parents weren't practical with money and were more dialed into each other's needs. She met Cleve when they were both teenagers where they dated a little bit. They reconnected in their early twenties, making an impulsive decision to marry on the eve of him deploying to Iraq as a Marine post 9/11. Like many of his brethren, within months he was injured and confined to a military hospital.
Karie describes her husband's fate post war injury, navigating pain medication dependence/addiction, PTSD, financial and medical support, and so much more involving the "military machine". I marvel at Karie's strength and determination at such a young age, employing every avenue to make sure the military provided benefits to make them whole in the wake of Cleve's life-altering injuries. She often had to reach out to outside charities/entities for financial support of various kinds, advised by the military that aid would be given more swiftly via those methods. This woman had a difficult childhood that led into an even more challenging adulthood, but through Karie's inner strength came out the other side. I applaud her forthrightness in penning this moving memoir, and wish her all the best in life.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group / The Dial Press for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley.
October 6, 2025
a beautifully written memoir about forming identity after young love, imperfect families, addiction and abuse in all forms, being failed by the government, but extremely traumatic and depressing.
February 15, 2025
I received a free copy of, Alive Day: A Memoir, by Karie Fugett, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Karie Fugett is homeless and living in her car, when she becomes engaged to her boyfriend, Cleve who is in the Marines, and is wounded in combat. This is in interesting read.
August 26, 2024
Wow, I don’t normally read memoirs, but I couldn’t put this one down! One of the most heart-wrenching and honest things I’ve ever read, mixed in with the author’s quirky humor. Every American should read this, if only to have a better understanding of what it really means to be a veteran and how it extends to their family members!
March 2, 2025
This generous and important memoir is relevant to today's world in its depiction of the life of a marine and his wife after he loses his leg doing service. The threat of a decrease in veterans' benefits and its impact on the families of those receiving them cannot be better illustrated.
May 7, 2025
I always find memoirs hard to review because the author is sharing their own life experiences.
Alive Day tells of the relationship between Karie Fugett and her husband, Cleve. Cleve was a Marine serving in Afghanistan when he was injured by an IED, which later resulted in him losing his leg. As part of his recovery, Cleve was given pain killers that led to drug abuse of the opioids he was prescribed.
Karie's memoir of their relationship highlights the struggle spouses of armed forces members go through, whether it be as a medical aid when they're home or the loneliness felt when they're overseas. Also it shows the neglect of the government for these soldiers once they've done their duty serving the government. Many of these soldiers are left to survive on their own with little to no assistance from the government relying on aid from nonprofits to help pick up the slack. I will be honest that none of this was extremely new information to me.
While I appreciate the narrative format of the memoir, I did find it rambling at times. There were times when the writing seemed to lack cohesion. Karie does have a writing style that keeps the reader engaged with the material. At times it also felt repetitive, which I didn't personally enjoy. I think the point could have been brought across in a better manner without being so redundant. Overall I wish there was more grounded truth in her story with statistics that only came at the very end.
Thank you to Dial Press and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for review consideration.
Alive Day tells of the relationship between Karie Fugett and her husband, Cleve. Cleve was a Marine serving in Afghanistan when he was injured by an IED, which later resulted in him losing his leg. As part of his recovery, Cleve was given pain killers that led to drug abuse of the opioids he was prescribed.
Karie's memoir of their relationship highlights the struggle spouses of armed forces members go through, whether it be as a medical aid when they're home or the loneliness felt when they're overseas. Also it shows the neglect of the government for these soldiers once they've done their duty serving the government. Many of these soldiers are left to survive on their own with little to no assistance from the government relying on aid from nonprofits to help pick up the slack. I will be honest that none of this was extremely new information to me.
While I appreciate the narrative format of the memoir, I did find it rambling at times. There were times when the writing seemed to lack cohesion. Karie does have a writing style that keeps the reader engaged with the material. At times it also felt repetitive, which I didn't personally enjoy. I think the point could have been brought across in a better manner without being so redundant. Overall I wish there was more grounded truth in her story with statistics that only came at the very end.
Thank you to Dial Press and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for review consideration.
July 4, 2025
This book is a memoir and I find it’s weird to rate someone’s actual life. It was an interesting and engaging read, but there was a lot of blame throwing that got bothersome.
June 27, 2025
Wow…. This is a MUST READ memoir!! I listened to the audio book and Karie did an amazing job. I love memoirs, and this one did not disappoint. It was well written (which isn’t always the case with memoirs), heartbreaking, maddening, and inspiring. Thank you for sharing your life and your experience Karie, what an important story.
June 6, 2025
I was inspired by the memoir from this Military Spouse who came from humble beginnings to truly experiencing the cost of war. I don't want to give away too much of the story, but Karie's story is about the hidden heroes who return from war with PTSD and debilitating addiction issues. War turns her husband Cleve into another person, and her inner dialogue of how she fiercely loves him and loves her country is very moving. It gets to a point where you can't even imagine a situation where she could get to the place where she is able to write this memoir. Karie is a very gifted writer who had inherited family trauma of her own. They started dating and impulsively got married prior to his deployment, starting a whirlwind of difficult decisions. I am so grateful that Book of the month made this book a selection as I rarely read memoirs and this hadn't come past my radar. If you are a Botm member, it is worth adding this to a future box. It is extremely moving and empathy building.
August 30, 2025
Learned a lot about the real impacts of the military. Thankful to have viewed a new lens.
April 29, 2025
As if Americans didn’t need another example of their increasingly dysfunctional government, they get this memoir. It’s all about a poor couple, just out of their teens, who went to war in a conflict that never should have happened in the first place. Was it patriotism? Decidedly not. These kids just didn’t seem to have any other good options besides the military. You see, without a draft and with greed as one of its main motivations for war, America has to rely more and more on the poor and undereducated to fight these conflicts. Cleve, the Marine in this story, somehow survives his first deployment to Iraq but becomes severely injured during his second. That’s when this couple go down a rabbit hole. Clearly, there was no shortage of money, expertise or technology to care for Cleve, but a dysfunctional system was just overwhelmed. Short-term solutions seemed to prevail—amputation, overuse of addictive pain meds, and inadequate psychological counseling. Notwithstanding these glaring deficiencies, Karie Fugett focuses her memoir on the nightmare she faced as a military spouse. She aptly observes that “the military relies on young spouses like me as cheap—sometimes free—labor.”
Karie and Cleve were childhood sweethearts living in rural Alabama. She was an unemployed high school dropout living in her car. Cleve joined the Marine Corp, not out of patriotism but, as he observes, people like him “followed the breadcrumbs we found, and they led us to the Marine Corps.” The couple married as a last resort to access the military’s generous dependent benefits.
Clearly, Karie and Cleve were a couple of kids with maturity issues. Fugett documents her journey following Cleve’s leg injury from being a devoted and sacrificing caregiver; to a codependent wife of a substance abuser; to a member of a military widows’ group; and finally to a successful student, professional and mother. Along the way she struggles with Cleves increasing self-destructive behavior that suggest he had an undiagnosed case of severe PTSD. His symptoms included life-threatening overdoses, marital separation, and threats of deadly violence.
Fugett’s narrative is a grim love story with occasional darkly humorous interludes. Celebrities kept showing up at Walter Reed with gifts. One suspects these were motivated more by hidden personal agendas than by altruism. Cleve’s penchant for greeting celebrities while naked while Karie’s difficulty even recognizing their claims to fame are touching. The replacement and relocations of Cleve’s gravestone is another grim, but humorous interlude. The occasional humorous anecdotes notwithstanding, Fugett’s memoir is hard to read because of the way this couple suffered under a dysfunctional system. It ends on a hopeful note, but one wonders just how rare such rosy outcomes may be considering the lack of any visible motivation to permanently solve any of the problems.
Karie and Cleve were childhood sweethearts living in rural Alabama. She was an unemployed high school dropout living in her car. Cleve joined the Marine Corp, not out of patriotism but, as he observes, people like him “followed the breadcrumbs we found, and they led us to the Marine Corps.” The couple married as a last resort to access the military’s generous dependent benefits.
Clearly, Karie and Cleve were a couple of kids with maturity issues. Fugett documents her journey following Cleve’s leg injury from being a devoted and sacrificing caregiver; to a codependent wife of a substance abuser; to a member of a military widows’ group; and finally to a successful student, professional and mother. Along the way she struggles with Cleves increasing self-destructive behavior that suggest he had an undiagnosed case of severe PTSD. His symptoms included life-threatening overdoses, marital separation, and threats of deadly violence.
Fugett’s narrative is a grim love story with occasional darkly humorous interludes. Celebrities kept showing up at Walter Reed with gifts. One suspects these were motivated more by hidden personal agendas than by altruism. Cleve’s penchant for greeting celebrities while naked while Karie’s difficulty even recognizing their claims to fame are touching. The replacement and relocations of Cleve’s gravestone is another grim, but humorous interlude. The occasional humorous anecdotes notwithstanding, Fugett’s memoir is hard to read because of the way this couple suffered under a dysfunctional system. It ends on a hopeful note, but one wonders just how rare such rosy outcomes may be considering the lack of any visible motivation to permanently solve any of the problems.
March 25, 2025
I finished Karie Fugett's memoir a couple days ago after finishing it in just three days. I usually write my reviews right away so I don't forget the story a book tells but I couldn't write my review of Alive Day because...
How do you review a memoir without sounding like you're passing judgment on someone's life? Or how they tell the story of their life? Especially when the story is something as raw and open and... dare I say, current as this one.
Another reviewer on Goodreads called Alive Day 'gracious and important' and those two words are the correct ones.
For whatever reason that Karie Fugett shared her & Cleve's story with all of us, she didn't have to. And I am so grateful that she did. I was in college studying history and political science when the US declared war on Iraq in 2003 so she and I are close to the same age. I wasn't in the military and I was never close to anyone who was so it was illuminating to see 'news' I read & consumed through the eyes of someone who lived the news. Not just the war itself, either, but the way the effects of it. There's something to be said for being aware of current events, but it's important to remember that you don't know the whole story. And sometimes you can't.
But you have to try. You have to know that the heroes sometimes fall by the wayside when they get home because it's easier than supporting them. You have to know how it affects not just them but their families and their communities. And you have to try and understand that's not okay to thank someone for their service and then walk away, or actively vote and work toward making their lives so much harder after.
Everything is politics and breaking news, and that's unfortunate. But I happened to be on a trip to Washington, D.C. and in the Senate gallery when they debated and approved $80 billion for the Iraq war in October 2003. And we're still funding wars today.
While we cut the budgets for the VA and the other support systems that might've helped Cleve and Karie. So if at the height of patriotic fervor, we failed so many...
But that's a tangent.
Alive Day is gracious and important. I hope it's widely read and I hope people learn from the story that Karie Fugett is so kindly and thoughtfully sharing with all of us.
Thanks to Penguin Random House, The Dial Press, NetGalley, and the author for the chance to read this memoir in exchange for an honest and original review.
How do you review a memoir without sounding like you're passing judgment on someone's life? Or how they tell the story of their life? Especially when the story is something as raw and open and... dare I say, current as this one.
Another reviewer on Goodreads called Alive Day 'gracious and important' and those two words are the correct ones.
For whatever reason that Karie Fugett shared her & Cleve's story with all of us, she didn't have to. And I am so grateful that she did. I was in college studying history and political science when the US declared war on Iraq in 2003 so she and I are close to the same age. I wasn't in the military and I was never close to anyone who was so it was illuminating to see 'news' I read & consumed through the eyes of someone who lived the news. Not just the war itself, either, but the way the effects of it. There's something to be said for being aware of current events, but it's important to remember that you don't know the whole story. And sometimes you can't.
But you have to try. You have to know that the heroes sometimes fall by the wayside when they get home because it's easier than supporting them. You have to know how it affects not just them but their families and their communities. And you have to try and understand that's not okay to thank someone for their service and then walk away, or actively vote and work toward making their lives so much harder after.
Everything is politics and breaking news, and that's unfortunate. But I happened to be on a trip to Washington, D.C. and in the Senate gallery when they debated and approved $80 billion for the Iraq war in October 2003. And we're still funding wars today.
While we cut the budgets for the VA and the other support systems that might've helped Cleve and Karie. So if at the height of patriotic fervor, we failed so many...
But that's a tangent.
Alive Day is gracious and important. I hope it's widely read and I hope people learn from the story that Karie Fugett is so kindly and thoughtfully sharing with all of us.
Thanks to Penguin Random House, The Dial Press, NetGalley, and the author for the chance to read this memoir in exchange for an honest and original review.
May 19, 2025
If you’re wanting to sneak in one more memoir for #memoirmay, then I highly recommend ALIVE DAY by Karie Fugett. Wow! This is one of the most raw, honest, and vulnerable memoirs that I’ve ever read. Check out this quick synopsis:
“𝘈 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢’𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳.”
At the beginning, Fugett gives her readers just enough backstory on her early years, family life, and her upbringing. Then she quickly pivots to when she first meets her future husband, Cleve. The pace really picks up and stays steady from there. We learn about Cleve’s decision to join the Marines, his service in Afghanistan, his injury from an IED, his recovery process, and then his eventual addiction to pain killers.
Just newly married, Fugett quickly became a spouse turned caregiver. She made so many sacrifices in order to care for her husband after his injury. She put her secondary education on hold and became responsible for pretty much everything. I kept shaking my head and whispering to myself, “Gosh, they were SO young.” The hoops that these two had to jump through for financial assistance and guidance was truly mind-boggling. It paints a truthful picture on how veterans are treated in this country, and it’s absolutely frustrating. It’s truly amazing how little I actually know about America’s military system, and how much this memoir has taught me. I found it quite shocking, eye-opening, and informative.
Of course I’ll always recommend the audiobook for memoirs as the author’s generally do the narration. Fugett did an outstanding job sharing her story. Listening to her experience broke my heart many times over, yet I’m so appreciative that she had the strength and courage to give us this powerful account on what it’s like to be a military spouse.
5/5 heartbreaking stars for ALIVE DAY! It’s out now!
“𝘈 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢’𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳.”
At the beginning, Fugett gives her readers just enough backstory on her early years, family life, and her upbringing. Then she quickly pivots to when she first meets her future husband, Cleve. The pace really picks up and stays steady from there. We learn about Cleve’s decision to join the Marines, his service in Afghanistan, his injury from an IED, his recovery process, and then his eventual addiction to pain killers.
Just newly married, Fugett quickly became a spouse turned caregiver. She made so many sacrifices in order to care for her husband after his injury. She put her secondary education on hold and became responsible for pretty much everything. I kept shaking my head and whispering to myself, “Gosh, they were SO young.” The hoops that these two had to jump through for financial assistance and guidance was truly mind-boggling. It paints a truthful picture on how veterans are treated in this country, and it’s absolutely frustrating. It’s truly amazing how little I actually know about America’s military system, and how much this memoir has taught me. I found it quite shocking, eye-opening, and informative.
Of course I’ll always recommend the audiobook for memoirs as the author’s generally do the narration. Fugett did an outstanding job sharing her story. Listening to her experience broke my heart many times over, yet I’m so appreciative that she had the strength and courage to give us this powerful account on what it’s like to be a military spouse.
5/5 heartbreaking stars for ALIVE DAY! It’s out now!
November 1, 2025
FORMAT: Physical & audio
RECAP: Living out of her car, 20 year-old Karie Fugett agrees to marry her boyfriend, Cleve, out of love & necessity - only for him to be deployed to Iraq & return gravely injured after an IED explosion. As Karie becomes his caregiver, she faces the harsh realities of war’s aftermath: navigating bureaucracy, addiction & loss while struggling to hold herself together.
REVIEW: This is a raw & tender portrait of love & survival, all while struggling with the unseen battles fought at home. And they were SO YOUNG, my heart broke for them repeatedly. I think this would be a good nonfiction pairing with The Women by Kristin Hannah. Otherwise, pick this memoir up if prefer emotion & honesty over action or politics - there’s also the theme of caregiving, and the strength needed to do such a job.
RECAP: Living out of her car, 20 year-old Karie Fugett agrees to marry her boyfriend, Cleve, out of love & necessity - only for him to be deployed to Iraq & return gravely injured after an IED explosion. As Karie becomes his caregiver, she faces the harsh realities of war’s aftermath: navigating bureaucracy, addiction & loss while struggling to hold herself together.
REVIEW: This is a raw & tender portrait of love & survival, all while struggling with the unseen battles fought at home. And they were SO YOUNG, my heart broke for them repeatedly. I think this would be a good nonfiction pairing with The Women by Kristin Hannah. Otherwise, pick this memoir up if prefer emotion & honesty over action or politics - there’s also the theme of caregiving, and the strength needed to do such a job.
June 14, 2025
I’m glad that Kari Fugett is doing so well! Good for her to write this stirring memoir! Reminding us all, of all the young people enlisting, sent to war, and not having the chance to grow old or coming home with terrible injuries! She brought up some good points about our military.
July 13, 2025
This memoir was largely about the relationship between veterans and caregivers, PTSD, and the impact of war on families. It explores the sacrifices wives and soldiers make during military deployment and after.
Karie was homeless and living out of her car when Cleve suggested they get married before he deployed. While deployed he was wounded in combat by an IED and lost a leg. While he received a Purple Heart medal, he also gained an addiction to pain meds, largely because of the overprescribing by doctors and lack of support from the military. Karie had barely had time to be a wife before she had to become a caregiver.
It highlights the difficulty that veterans face receiving care upon their return, and how much the system relies on nonprofits to pick up the pieces.
The writing itself had room for growth and was very repetitive. I struggled a bit with the pacing too, but feel like it was also an intentional move with the theme of grief and recovery. I base this review on the writing, not on the story, because I find it hard to rate a memoir based on the author’s experiences.
Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and the author for allowing me to read and give my honest review for this ARC.
Karie was homeless and living out of her car when Cleve suggested they get married before he deployed. While deployed he was wounded in combat by an IED and lost a leg. While he received a Purple Heart medal, he also gained an addiction to pain meds, largely because of the overprescribing by doctors and lack of support from the military. Karie had barely had time to be a wife before she had to become a caregiver.
It highlights the difficulty that veterans face receiving care upon their return, and how much the system relies on nonprofits to pick up the pieces.
The writing itself had room for growth and was very repetitive. I struggled a bit with the pacing too, but feel like it was also an intentional move with the theme of grief and recovery. I base this review on the writing, not on the story, because I find it hard to rate a memoir based on the author’s experiences.
Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and the author for allowing me to read and give my honest review for this ARC.
June 2, 2025
This was really good, intense, and tragic. Although I’m giving it 5⭐️, I would only recommend it if people read into the trigger warnings first. It isn’t an easy story to read. But, it is someone’s story, written very beautifully, and covers a lot of real issues that need to be talked about. Very well done.
June 4, 2025
“What was it about the military that made us believe it was our duty to not only accept violence against our bodies but find pride in enduring it?”
This line towards the end of the book sums up one of the major themes experienced by Karie and Cleve throughout the course of their young lives. This heartbreaking story, told with great empathy and humor, highlights not only the trauma experienced by service members, but the secondhand trauma experienced by their spouses. It’s also an important reminder that the greatest harm is not always done by the wars we fight overseas, but the faulty systems in place here at home.
This line towards the end of the book sums up one of the major themes experienced by Karie and Cleve throughout the course of their young lives. This heartbreaking story, told with great empathy and humor, highlights not only the trauma experienced by service members, but the secondhand trauma experienced by their spouses. It’s also an important reminder that the greatest harm is not always done by the wars we fight overseas, but the faulty systems in place here at home.
August 23, 2025
4.5 stars. This memoir was so thoughtfully written. I learned so much about the military system and wounded veterans. Loved Karie’s writing. I felt like I was experience all her feelings of guilt, hope, anger and everything with her. Definitely recommend
May 20, 2025
At age 20, Karie Fugett marries her short-term boyfriend and former middle school sweetheart, Cleve, only months before he is deployed to Iraq.
Her new husband suffers serious injuries overseas and she becomes his full time caregiver upon their reunion. Alive Day tells the story of a young married couple struggling to mend their relationship in the aftermath of war and navigate the systematic issues of the United States military system.
Alive Day was my May 2025 Book of the Month pick, and definitely feel that I made the right choice with this one. The events detailed in Fugett's memoir can be beautiful, sad, heartwarming, and frustrating at different times, but no matter what emotion is evoked, the moments always feel real. Fugett does a great job of showcasing the complexities of working through trauma, mental illness, and opioid addiction in a relationship while also calling into question the way the military treats disabled veterans and their spouses.
I am very impressed with this memoir and would recommend it to anyone in search of an emotional read. However, this book does contain depictions of bodily injuries, drug abuse, and domestic violence that could be triggering to some readers.
Her new husband suffers serious injuries overseas and she becomes his full time caregiver upon their reunion. Alive Day tells the story of a young married couple struggling to mend their relationship in the aftermath of war and navigate the systematic issues of the United States military system.
Alive Day was my May 2025 Book of the Month pick, and definitely feel that I made the right choice with this one. The events detailed in Fugett's memoir can be beautiful, sad, heartwarming, and frustrating at different times, but no matter what emotion is evoked, the moments always feel real. Fugett does a great job of showcasing the complexities of working through trauma, mental illness, and opioid addiction in a relationship while also calling into question the way the military treats disabled veterans and their spouses.
I am very impressed with this memoir and would recommend it to anyone in search of an emotional read. However, this book does contain depictions of bodily injuries, drug abuse, and domestic violence that could be triggering to some readers.
June 13, 2025
"The wars might be over for now, but my generation is stil carrying the weight of so much loss . . . . the cost of these wars is paid for not only by those who fight, but also by innocent civilians and family members, like me, who love the ones doing the fighting. Many of us are so very young. And the truth is that our country depends on its least powerful citizens to carry the burden of protecting us all—and in return, those citizens are neglected. Forgotten."
Alive Day is a powerful, real memoir about two young newly-eloped, barely-adult kids thrust into war, caregiving, and addiction together.
Karie and Cleve are middle-school sweethearts who reconnect in their young adulthood and elope quickly in 2005. Cleve, a Marine, is deployed to Iraq, where he's soon injured by an IED. Karie is thrust into the new role of caregiver and has to navigate military bureaucracy, the stresses of major medical care, and the effects of over-prescribed opioids for her husband.
Alive Day isn't an idealized picture of a perfect, injured war hero and a perfect, suffering wife. Karie beautifully captures both people's imperfections, wicked senses of humor, tensions, and love for each other.
This memoir succeeds most when it goes beyond the story of just Karie and Cleve. Their story is their own, but it's (unfortunately) not unique. Too many service members and their families are asked to bear impossible burdens of war and then abandoned by the system, with nonprofits and individuals patching what gaps they can.
Alive Day is a powerful, real memoir about two young newly-eloped, barely-adult kids thrust into war, caregiving, and addiction together.
Karie and Cleve are middle-school sweethearts who reconnect in their young adulthood and elope quickly in 2005. Cleve, a Marine, is deployed to Iraq, where he's soon injured by an IED. Karie is thrust into the new role of caregiver and has to navigate military bureaucracy, the stresses of major medical care, and the effects of over-prescribed opioids for her husband.
Alive Day isn't an idealized picture of a perfect, injured war hero and a perfect, suffering wife. Karie beautifully captures both people's imperfections, wicked senses of humor, tensions, and love for each other.
This memoir succeeds most when it goes beyond the story of just Karie and Cleve. Their story is their own, but it's (unfortunately) not unique. Too many service members and their families are asked to bear impossible burdens of war and then abandoned by the system, with nonprofits and individuals patching what gaps they can.
July 9, 2025
*BOTM Hardback
“I had to take advantage of my own “Alive Day.” This was my second chance. I gripped my steering wheel and swore, to myself and to Cleve, that I would make the most of it.”
This was a very good read and gives so much insight into the military, its ins & outs, the people impacted by it, and the ways that the government falls short in taking good care of those who sacrifice to protect you freedom.
It’s about a toxic relationship and how someone who, while maybe good deep inside, can turn into someone that is unrecognizable and downright scary. It goes into opioid use and how addictive pills are…even when they are initially prescribed for legitimate reasons.
The system fails our war heros/veterans etc. It’s incredibly sad that after giving everything so many walk away with nothing…and those are the “lucky” ones because at least they’re still alive right?! It’s a shame and they deserve better.
Fugett provides a raw account of a tale that so common amongst many young military wives. She gives a deeper insight for those not in the thick of it and for those that are, she lets you know you’re not alone.
“I had to take advantage of my own “Alive Day.” This was my second chance. I gripped my steering wheel and swore, to myself and to Cleve, that I would make the most of it.”
This was a very good read and gives so much insight into the military, its ins & outs, the people impacted by it, and the ways that the government falls short in taking good care of those who sacrifice to protect you freedom.
It’s about a toxic relationship and how someone who, while maybe good deep inside, can turn into someone that is unrecognizable and downright scary. It goes into opioid use and how addictive pills are…even when they are initially prescribed for legitimate reasons.
The system fails our war heros/veterans etc. It’s incredibly sad that after giving everything so many walk away with nothing…and those are the “lucky” ones because at least they’re still alive right?! It’s a shame and they deserve better.
Fugett provides a raw account of a tale that so common amongst many young military wives. She gives a deeper insight for those not in the thick of it and for those that are, she lets you know you’re not alone.
October 29, 2025
Typically, the books that I read and interest me surrounding this topic are either written from the war veteran themselves or written exclusively about their life. It was a unique take on a sadly ununique story by having the story largely be about the caregiver in the situation (in this case, the woman/wife). Fugett's writing is both personal and clean, relying on a narrative style that draws in the reader from the first chapter and keeps them reading to see how her story develops. Fugett was not in a unique situation, and I think that it is important that stories like this get told. There were plenty of wives or other family members in this exact position, especially during and after the Middle Eastern conflict in the early 2000s. I'm glad that she tells her story in a raw and visceral way, not shying away from the brutal details of how the military shipped off kids way too young to fight a war on foreign soil. She doesn't shy away from the fact that when they got home wounded, addictive pain medication was largely the solution, not counseling or other forms of mental health advocacy. I appreciate Fugett in her honesty, and I think it is so important to listen to stories like these so we can prevent history from repeating itself.
January 26, 2026
This was a crazy read. I don’t usually enjoy memoirs, but this one read like fiction. Karie and Cleve went through SO much in their short lives together. It was heartbreaking to read everything Karie went through with Cleve and how he was living his life after his injury. It really is such a shame he wasn’t able to get the help he needed. I was very happy to read Karie went to school and traveled and had all of these amazing experiences and now has her baby girl and is enjoying her second chance, her Alive Day. 4.5-5 ✨-I don’t usually rate memoirs because it’s someone’s life experiences but her life has been remarkable, through all of the bad things she’s been through and now the good, and she wrote about it wonderfully, so did rate this one!-
October 15, 2025
4.2 written from the POV of the wife of a veteran, and its most striking how incredibly young both were when the story takes place. The author is fiercely devoted to her husband and his healing after early discharge , ignoring her own needs much of the time and she tells their most difficult story with grace and ease. She shows as much as she describes how recruiters prey on the economically disadvantaged and how the government dragged these boys into war, then deserted them in their time of need. “…our country depends on its least powerful citizens to carry the burden of protecting us all and in return, those citizens are neglected, forgotten.” “They use the term hero, so they don’t have to use the term casualty.”
An eye-opener.
An eye-opener.
June 1, 2025
I'm not normally one for nonfiction, but I do enjoy the occasional memoir. With a dad that is a veteran, I'm tuned in to all things military. And I felt that reading this one during Memorial Day week was fitting. This one will stay with me a while. It was beautifully written. Heart-wrenching, emotional, real, raw, frustrating, eye-opening. Basically, all the feels were felt. There was humor, there was sadness. Definitely not an easy read, but I'm so very glad that I read it. The author's note was great. I've got tears in my eyes and am sniffling. A great book.
January 16, 2026
If I could DNF a book, this would have been the perfect candidate. Maybe I’m not cut out for memoirs but this was beyond boring. None of the characters had any depth or personality. Not sure if that was a writing flaw or if everyone in was accurately portrayed and just really that boring.
I did feel like the military was accurately portrayed with their lack of help or interest in the humans behind the war machine.
It wasn’t a total flop, I’m glad I read it just for the perspective. But there was definitely no story arc like my typical reads, and it lacked substance.
I did feel like the military was accurately portrayed with their lack of help or interest in the humans behind the war machine.
It wasn’t a total flop, I’m glad I read it just for the perspective. But there was definitely no story arc like my typical reads, and it lacked substance.
May 31, 2025
Wow. This might be the best thing I’ve read in a while. Truly poignant and heart-wrenching - understanding the people and the lives behind the statistics. Another review said they were so glad this book was written - I couldn’t agree more.
“I was starting to wonder if this had been part of our country’s plan all along: let poor people struggle to survive so that when the time comes, they can be lured into the military by the promise of food and healthcare and shelter in exchange for using their bodies to protect the rich and powerful.”
“I was starting to wonder if this had been part of our country’s plan all along: let poor people struggle to survive so that when the time comes, they can be lured into the military by the promise of food and healthcare and shelter in exchange for using their bodies to protect the rich and powerful.”
June 20, 2025
This was a really great and sad heartfelt story. A good read! I did not expect it to be so interesting or to be as good as it was when I first started the book. And the author writes so good it kept me in the story.
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