I am a married Mother of 1 Son and 2 Step-sons. I have never served in the military and honestly do not have any close ties to the Military, other than my Father who served in Korea, a cousin who was killed in Vietnam during the TET offensive and an ex-husband that served in Vietnam long before I knew him. Though I would prefer the world was all Love and Light with no war ever; that is just not how it is. I have strong feelings about the war on both sides of the issue, I respect others thoughts and opinions as their own; but no matter what I respect and support the courage, strength and patriotism of each and every member of our Military. I begin this review this way so that you can see I am a regular Jane.

This book is written from Chris Kyle a Navy SEal's perspective. It is about his life growing up in Odessa Texas and follows him through his life as a Navy SEal, from BUDS training to the war in Iraq and life during and after from his POV. If you are looking for fluff, BS and watered down opinions this book is not for you. Chris tells it like he saw it good, bad or indifferent from his POV. During the reading of this book I cringed, I smiled, I chuckled, I felt uneasy and a bit queasy, I cried and felt sad, but I was completely engaged the entire time. At no point did I feel lost or feel like I did not understand something. (Keeping in mind I am just a regular Jane); Chris explains acronyms, procedures and operations as the story moves along and talks in plain "Texan". Peppered throughout the book, Taya, Chris' wife gives us a heartfelt view of life with Chris. My heart could only bleed for her, Thank you Taya and "God Bless" you for all that you sacrificed for your country. And Chris for the record though you say (several times I might add) throughout the book that you do not consider yourself a "Bad Ass".........Uh Chris, you were a FEARLESS BAD ASS, period end of subject.

I am glad I decided to read this book; as honesty goes, Chris does not pull any punches and truly seems sincere in all his accounts of how things went down. I am not by nature one to believe everything I read and use quite of a bit of discernment as a rule, but at no point did I feel that anything but the truth as Chris saw it went from pen to paper.

Thank you Chris and every single person at home or deployed who Stand and Protect our great country. And thank you to all the Mothers, Fathers, Sisters, Brothers, Wives and Children who sacrifice so those brave men and woman can do just that.

This is a must read for anyone who wants to read a firsthand account of the sacrifices the men and women of our armed forces endure on a daily basis.