Dana Canedy is the senior vice president and publisher of Simon & Schuster. Previously, she was the administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes and a senior editor at The New York Times, where she was a journalist for more than twenty years. In 2001, she was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for “How Race Is Lived in America.” Raised near Fort Knox, Kentucky, she lives in New York City with her son, Jordan.
“This book is a gift, and not only to Jordan.”—USA Today
“Canedy’s talent at evoking character makes the account of King’s
life and death not simply a story about the injustice of war, but a
project in resurrection. Canedy allows King to come alive for her
son and, to our benefit, for us. . . . Gripping . . .
important.”—The New York Times Book Review
“It’s impossible not to be affected by her story.”—Entertainment
Weekly
“At once inspiring and ineffably sad . . . Canedy captures the
unique magnificence of the man she loved in a way that brings the
beginnings of an understanding to the losses that other families
bear.”—The Denver Post
“Gut-wrenching . . . Canedy writes with the objective eye of a
hard-line reporter yet manages to convey the complexities of the
love between her and her fiance as well as the deep loss she feels
in his absence. It’s impossible to imagine what her pain is like,
but she does a beautiful job of allowing us to come
close.”—The Washington Post
“Canedy’s memoir speaks to military families everywhere. . . . By
openly and honestly revealing her side of their highly emotional
story as well, by detailing the effects of his death on her and
subsequent interactions with government brass about burial and
benefits, for example . . . she gives the project a greater
significance, making it especially relevant for and meaningful to
countless others in similar situations.”—San Francisco
Chronicle
“Heartfelt . . . Canedy used her skills as a reporter to dig
beneath the official story of King’s death. . . . These
investigative passages are gripping. . . . King died a hero’s
death, but Canedy’s embrace of life is a kind of heroism, too.”—The
Plain Dealer
“Powerful . . . Not all great love stories are ignited by the
lightning bolt of love at first glance; this humbler
I’m-going-to-talk-myself-into-this-good-man version is believable
and real. . . . A Journal for Jordan is impossible to read without
a sense of bitter knowledge that this principled man fell at the
behest of leaders less guided by honor. That is no trick O. Henry
ending. It is a denouement full of suffering, worthy of
Chekhov.”—Melissa Fay Greene, The New York Times
“This tragic story of love and war reminds all Americans that we
are fortunate to have people like Sgt. Charles King, willing to die
for our country. Dana Canedy bears witness to the enduring power of
love, to Sgt. King’s heroism and his unfailing devotion to his
family and his men.”—Caroline Kennedy
“Dana Canedy’s moving memoir has captured my heart and won’t let it
go. Courageous in its honesty and at times unsettling, it draws us
deep into the soul of a woman in love, the pain of her loss and the
unpardonable theft of hopes and dreams, lives and futures stolen by
war. I didn’t want it to end.”—Susan L. Taylor, editor-in-chief
emeritus, Essence, and founder of the National CARES Mentoring
Movement
Inspired by a journal her fiance wrote to their infant son while stationed as a sergeant in Iraq, New York Times editor Canedy tenderly recreates the couple's love story and decision to have a baby before he died. Canedy, an army brat herself, vowed to stay away from military men, but at 33, she was attracted to the shy, newly divorced artist and first sergeant Charles Monroe King, whom she met in the home of her parents in Radcliff, Ky., even if not quite like the intellectual men she typically dated back in New York. Over several years, their relationship developed despite their busy, separate lives, and when Charles was ordered to duty in Iraq in 2005, they discussed marriage and decided to conceive a child. Charles could not get back for baby Jordan's delivery, and the sergeant spent only two weeks with his baby son before returning to duty--he was killed in 2006. Canedy's account of Charles's last visit with his wife and child is heartbreaking. Unflinching and thorough, Canedy offers a sense of shared grief with other families whose loved ones have died in the war. (Dec.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.
"This book is a gift, and not only to Jordan."-USA Today
"Canedy's talent at evoking character makes the account of King's
life and death not simply a story about the injustice of war, but a
project in resurrection. Canedy allows King to come alive for her
son and, to our benefit, for us. . . . Gripping . . .
important."-The New York Times Book Review
"It's impossible not to be affected by her
story."-Entertainment Weekly
"At once inspiring and ineffably sad . . . Canedy captures the
unique magnificence of the man she loved in a way that brings the
beginnings of an understanding to the losses that other families
bear."-The Denver Post
"Gut-wrenching . . . Canedy writes with the objective eye of a
hard-line reporter yet manages to convey the complexities of the
love between her and her fiance as well as the deep loss she feels
in his absence. It's impossible to imagine what her pain is like,
but she does a beautiful job of allowing us to come
close."-The Washington Post
"Canedy's memoir speaks to military families everywhere. . . . By
openly and honestly revealing her side of their highly emotional
story as well, by detailing the effects of his death on her and
subsequent interactions with government brass about burial and
benefits, for example . . . she gives the project a greater
significance, making it especially relevant for and meaningful to
countless others in similar situations."-San Francisco
Chronicle
"Heartfelt . . . Canedy used her skills as a reporter to dig
beneath the official story of King's death. . . . These
investigative passages are gripping. . . . King died a hero's
death, but Canedy's embrace of life is a kind of heroism,
too."-The Plain Dealer
"Powerful . . . Not all great love stories are ignited by the
lightning bolt of love at first glance; this humbler
I'm-going-to-talk-myself-into-this-good-man version is believable
and real. . . . A Journal for Jordan is impossible to read without
a sense of bitter knowledge that this principled man fell at the
behest of leaders less guided by honor. That is no trick O. Henry
ending. It is a denouement full of suffering, worthy of
Chekhov."-Melissa Fay Greene, The New York
Times
"This tragic story of love and war reminds all Americans that we
are fortunate to have people like Sgt. Charles King, willing to die
for our country. Dana Canedy bears witness to the enduring power of
love, to Sgt. King's heroism and his unfailing devotion to his
family and his men."-Caroline Kennedy
"Dana
Canedy's moving memoir has captured my heart and won't let it go.
Courageous in its honesty and at times unsettling, it draws us deep
into the soul of a woman in love, the pain of her loss and the
unpardonable theft of hopes and dreams, lives and futures stolen by
war. I didn't want it to end."-Susan L. Taylor, editor-in-chief
emeritus, Essence, and founder of the National CARES
Mentoring Movement
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