Warrior: A Memoir [9780062399489]

Overview

In this inspiring memoir of personal transformation, a former female Marine platoon leader recalls the wars she has fought—on the playing field, the battlefield, and inside her own soul—revealing how overcoming the harrowing circumstances in her life helped her ultimately redefine what it means to be strong and what “perfect” really is.

Theresa Larson has lived multiple lives. At ten she was a caregiver to her dying mother. As an adolescent, an All-Star high school, college, and professional softball player. As a young adult, a fitness competition winner, beauty pageant contestant, and model. And as a grown woman, a high-achieving Lieutenant in the Marines, an Iraq War veteran in charge of an entire platoon while deployed in Iraq.

Meanwhile, Theresa was battling bulimia nervosa, an internal struggle which ultimately cut short her military service when she was voluntarily evacuated from combat. Theresa’s mental health journey to wellness required the bravery to ask for help, to take care of herself first, and abandon the idea of “perfect.” In Warrior, a compelling story of eating disorder recovery, she lays bare all of these lives in intimate and vivid detail, examining extremely personal and sometime painful moments and how, by finally accepting the help of others, she learned to make herself whole. From growing up in a log cabin outside Seattle to facing down the enemy in Iraq, Theresa’s journey demonstrates that good health and happiness is a daily, intentional act that requires persistence and commitment.

Theresa hopes that through sharing her story, she will help inspire others to empower themselves, embrace their inner warrior and re-define strength. Startling and funny, terrifying and triumphant, heartbreaking and inspirational, Warrior is at heart a story of overcoming adversity and success—of a determined woman who is model for everyone struggling to conquer their own demons. Theresa shows that asking for help can be an act of courage, and that we are stronger than we think when faced with seemingly impossible odds.

In this raw and honest military story, discover the real meaning of strength:

• A Woman in Combat: Experience the grit and reality of leading a platoon of Marines on the front lines in Fallujah, Iraq.
• The Secret War Within: A raw look at the devastating, private battle with bulimia nervosa while maintaining the exterior of a perfect, high-achieving officer.
• Redefining “Perfect”: The powerful journey of letting go of an impossible standard and discovering that true strength lies in vulnerability and asking for help.
• An Inspirational True Story: From a log cabin in Seattle to the battlefields of Iraq, a story of perseverance that shows how our deepest struggles can become our greatest strengths.