A Journal for Jordan: A Story of Love and Honor

I listened to the audio book edition of "A Journal for Jordan" and I enjoyed it very much. From the first couple of words I was drawn in by the warmth and strength of Dana's voice. I felt as if I was listening to a good friend telling me her personal story. And what a moving story it was. Dana Canedy recounts the unfolding love story between her and First Sergeant Charles Monroe King. She tells us about their days of courtship, their plans to marry and the conception of their son Jordan. And finally, she shares the pain that Charles untimely death in Iraq caused her and all of his family. Thankfully Charles left behind a journal for his infant son, which he had started during his deployment. His journal entries build the foundation for the book. In them, he counsels his son on everything from dating to becoming a respectable human being. Throughout the book you can just feel the love that the author, her fiancé and their son shared. And you can't help but join in the mourning of their fallen soldier. I was at times crying so hard that I had to take a break from listening. Yet at other times the author made me laugh out loud with some of her witty observations. Canedy's way with words is marvelous. And I think she created a gift for Jordan that he will forever treasure. If only every child of a fallen soldier could have a book like this.

Dana Canedy was raised as an Army brat and certainly had no interest in living her adult life subject to the uncertainties and moves that all military families must endure. She was a journalist deeply involved in her career at The New York Times when she first met Charles during a visit with her parents in Kentucky. Charles was still healing from a divorce, and Dana had recently ended a relationship. Neither of them was ready to begin dating again. But many phone calls took place, and soon the soldier was visiting the writer in the big city. Their long-distance relationship had some rough patches, but they were together whenever their schedules allowed. A few years passed, and their relationship deepened and strengthened. They planned to marry after Charles completed his tour of duty in Iraq. Dana became pregnant, and the baby was due in March 2006. Dana gave Charles a journal of sorts --- not a blank book --- but one with a question at the top of each page to prompt the prospective father to write to his unborn child. Charles busied himself filling up its pages, often substituting his own questions so that he could explain certain things to Jordan. He wanted Jordan to know him. Possibly he felt he might not live to see his son. Surely that thought entered Dana's mind as well. Charles carried an ultrasound image of the unborn baby with him in Iraq. Though he promised to return to New York for Jordan's birth, when the time neared he stayed with his company of young, combat-inexperienced soldiers. He told Dana they really needed him and would not leave. Dana also needed Charles, but she soldiered on in her own way and gave birth to a beautiful, healthy son without Charles at her side. A few months later, Charles did manage to get a brief leave to see Jordan and instantly fell in love with his son. That precious time flew by as the new family bonded. Then Charles returned to Iraq with only six weeks remaining until his tour would be up. The couple had made plans --- for a wedding, for Jordan's first Christmas --- that should have lasted a lifetime. But those were shattered to bits when Charles was killed by a roadside bomb during a mission for which he volunteered. Once again, Charles, the conscientious soldier, had placed duty above family. Dana's grief seemed bottomless. What she feared most had actually happened, and now she was left to raise Jordan alone. The Army gave her a sanitized, official version of what happened --- that Charles had died instantly. But Dana was skeptical, and the reporter in her would not rest until she had some plausible answers. She spent a great deal of time interviewing soldiers who had served with Charles, asking questions to which she dreaded hearing the answers. But she needed to know. Finally she pieced the information together to reach an answer she could accept and understand. A JOURNAL FOR JORDAN gives a human face and voice to those impersonal-sounding statistics --- war casualties --- that the news anch

I'd like to say that this book is by far the BEST book i've ever read in my life. Granted, I hate to read. I have the attention span of a peanut and no book ever seems to 'suck me in'. HOWEVER this book had me from page 1 and I couldn't put it down. I read the whole book in one sitting. The way Dana wrote this book made me feel as if i was right there witnessing things as they unfolded. The further I got in the book, the further I got into my own little world where nothing else mattered but finishing this book. This book isn't just another sad story about a man losing his life in Iraq, it was a story about love and family. I have already told everyone I know about this book and I refused to let anyone borrow it because i'm keeping it for life!! Totally worth reading!!

A beautiful story written even more beautifully that sucked you right into Ms. Canedy's world from the very first page. A Journal for Jordan is a great read to cleanse the soul with just the right amount of laughs and the right amount of tears and I Highly recommend it.

This is a touching true story of two very different people who were probably not ideal for each other when they met... yet eventually fell in love... planned a family... planned a marriage... planned a life together... with some of these plans being fulfilled... while others... will remain heartbreakingly... unfulfilled for all eternity. The author is New York Times journalist Dana Canedy who shares her innermost thoughts and feelings... that encompass not only her falling in love with First Sergeant Charles King... but also is honest in the fact that this happened... *despite* the fact... that she was her own worst enemy in the early going... convincing herself in any way possible that Charles was not the right man for her... So she put up personal roadblocks... that ranged from saying she'd never be involved with a military man... because of her Father... she didn't want to become a victimized wife... like her Mother... she even convinced herself that Charles didn't have a good enough vocabulary to be around her cohorts at work. Yet through it all... she couldn't deny that Charles treated her better than she'd ever been treated. He treated her like his queen. Charles was the epitome of a good hard working man... with pride in what he did... the goals of always working harder than the next guy. As a drill instructor he took the lives of his men... on and off the battlefield seriously... he felt he had to be a stern taskmaster when needed... and also had to be a concerned Father figure when the situation called for it. Charles had multiple tours in battle and they decided to try to "create" a baby when he came home on leave between battle assignments. Miraculously, even though Dana was forty-years-old... they accomplished their goal. Before Charles went back to war... Dana gave him a gift of a journal... in which there were pre-printed questions for a prospective Father to answer. Charles took it so seriously to heart... that he even crossed out and added some questions that he wanted to tell his unborn son... in case he didn't make it back... which tragically... after seeing him on leave... once for two weeks... he didn't. Two major themes that the author performs exquisitely through her writing are: the way she interjects paragraphs that look like they were cut out of the journal... and pasted in... like in a scrapbook... at just the right places... at just the right time... to magnificently hammer home a salient point... and the second admirable trait provided by the author... is the truth... about how much time and love... the two most valuable things we have on earth... was wasted... as she refused to see... and accept... what a wonderful and loving man Charles truly was. This book... is such a unique combination of themes... that are so perfectly pieced together by the author. This is a war book... without it really being all about war... it's a romance book... without being all about love... it is a newspaper reporter story... without b