The Cost of the American Dream: Diary of a Homeless Soul (paid link)

Description

The Cost of the American Dream Diary of a Homeless Soul is a memoir about a US military woman from Haïti who struggles to find her voice, purpose, identity, and place in the world, in the midst of family dysfunction, displacement, deportation, abuse, abandonment, bad relationships, and perplexity in her new country. This book, which chronicles the author’s trips and deployments around the world, has been writing itself for nineteen years. The Cost of the American Dream is the military version of Julia Roberts’s Eat Pray Love. However, unlike Ms. Roberts’s character, she falls in love with the wrong man in the chapter, Sin City.

In her memoir, Yasmine strips herself of religious restrictions and expectations, giving voice to her issues, pain, vulnerabilities, and deepest desires to help us understand how every human soul can experience emotional homelessness at some point in life. She also helps us understand that our traumas are often generational. Therefore, it is not our responsibility to carry them for the rest of our lives. This book also gives a behind-the-scenes look at life in the military from a female perspective and highlights the biggest challenges veterans face when they come home. This author’s story of courage is a perfect example of how faith, belief, and resilience can take us from the pit to the palace, no matter where we come from.

Rebecca C. Mandeville, MA

Rebecca C. Mandeville coined the research-supported terms 'family scapegoating abuse' (FSA) and 'family scapegoat trauma' (FST) and is a recognized thought leader in understanding the consequences of being in the family 'identified patient' or 'scapegoat' role. She also created the FSA Recovery Coaching℠ process. Her best-selling book, 'Rejected, Shamed, and Blamed', is the first book ever written on FSA. Rebecca serves as a YouTube Health Partner via her channel 'Beyond Family Scapegoating Abuse' and is also active on Instagram and Facebook.