Book Summary: A Journal for Jordan by Dana Canedy
Dana’s literary work-“A Journal for Jordan”-is a letter addressed to her orphaned son Jordan. It mainly features a lot about the father’s journal written while in the Iraq War. The mother candidly takes her son through the earliest days of his life when he was oblivious of what was going on around him. She honestly and plainly puts forth her life and that of her husband as well as their relationships. The journal is written in the first person approach and simply sounds like a speech or recorded message from a mother to a son. The journal also contains direct excerpts from the Journal of Jordan’s father offering him advice on how to lead his life (Canedy, 2009).
Summary: 1. Chapter 1 p3-13
The first chapter begins by directly addressing Jordan, and explaining when the journal was written and whom it was intended for. Dana goes ahead to reveal the circumstances under which Jordan’s father (Sergeant Charles Monroe King) died and how the journal was written. She explains to Jordan that his father had died in the Iraq War in October 2006. She explains to her son the last parting they had after checking his gender and the anxiety of his father to come home. The chapter also has bits of advice from Monroe to his son such as “Be humble about your accomplishments, work harder than the man next to you… (Canedy, 2009).”
In the chapter Dana also explores the character of Sergeant Monroe describing him as being procrastinator, introvert and generally difficult person to deal with that would sulk and retreat into his on world on trivialities. She also explores her own character as being assertive loquacious and impatient from her perspective and candidly states her weaknesses too. Dana extensively explores Monroe’s dedication and involvement in the army and his works with the military in various places such Spain, Cuba and Germany.
She re-tells the story of their courtship and how she had tried to avoid Monroe, because as a daughter of a veteran she never wanted anything to do with the army and the life around the military because that was all she had known the whole of her life. Dana explores Monroe’s life and character through the revelation of the journal and things that she did not even know about her husband which only came to her knowledge through the journal. Conclusively, the first chapter explores Monroe’s life and character and his love life and family relations, by exploring his life and earlier marriage that had broken as well as his achievements in life.
Summary: 2. Chapters 2 to 11 p 15-182
The second chapter starts off with Dana’s narration of how she first met her husband First Sergeant Charles Monroe King. She also explains about her encounters in the camp with men of uniform, of whom her father was a drill sergeant. She explores her family and the relationship she had with her father, who apparently was a strict person that could not even allow them to use the dishwasher, claiming that it was a sign of laziness. In this chapter we get to learn about Dana’s family and the early days of her life. Dana deeply reflects throughout this chapter on how they as a couple met and how their courtship experienced hardships as they tried to bond.
Through her narration in chapter we learn that Dana never though of Monroe as her perfect man in terms of character and profession-wise. She states that he was nothing like the men she dated, but it was only his persistence that perhaps kept their relationship going (Canedy, 2009). Dana explains how she put up a resistance to the attraction because she had vowed never to date any man in the military. As a drill sergeant’s daughter she had learned about the sacrifices and uncertainties that the military work involved. Throughout the narration of their courtship it seemingly sounds that the two were mismatched souls that were bound together by fate.
As years went by Dana let her guard down even after dating other men whilst in a relation with him. She was finally able to let Monroe into her life and she began appreciating the immense joy and happiness that he brought to his life. Thereafter, they began building a life together and Dana even dared to dream with Monroe about their future. Unlike the first chapter that begun highlighting the dawn of Monroe’s life, this chapter takes us to the beginning of the relationship between Monroe and Dana. It also highlights some facts about the background lives and families (Canedy, 2009).
Summary: 3. Chapters 12 to 13 p 183-210
This chapter narrates more about the short-lived moments that Monroe had with his son Jordan and wife Dana. In this chapter we learn about Monroe’s asthmatic condition acquired in his early life as they lived near a power plant. Dana explores her intimate life with Monroe while on leave and she narrates of their lovely Jordan as toddler. This chapter shows a lovely couple enjoying the pleasure of having and caring for their first born son.
Dana narrates about her passion and love for Monroe which seemed to spark brilliantly as they spent time together, however; she states that she was always bothered by the fact that Monroe was to live soon for duty. The chapter also covers Monroe’s departure for duty after spending a short holiday with his son and finally his demise and the journal that came prior to the news of his death. The chapter narrates the lonely life that Dana led and her constant thoughts about Monroe’s safety and eventual come-back.
The narration of her nostalgic feelings portrays how mothers and wife may feel as they await for their loved ones from combat. The chapter also covers her days of grief and the sad reception of the news of death. Dana shows how her life was shattered in this chapter by vividly explaining the kind of grief that she underwent and the pain of loss that she could not bear, but had to live with. It is at this point that the desire to know more about Monroe’s death grows within her and spurs her to the point of making inquisitions. She yearns to learn more about the death of her husband and sets out to seek the truth (Canedy, 2009).
Summary: 4. Chapters 14 to Epilogue p 211-271
In this section we learn about her futile struggles that get her very little information about the death of her husband. Her struggles show how the military always tries to keep its operations secret and little or no information about any operations of the military can even be made available to the family or citizenry. This even further increases her grief in life. In this section we also encounter the epilogue, which is also written in form of a letter addressed to Monroe Charles King. Dana addresses her husband as if he was a live.
She explains how to him about their life and Jordan. She also tells of how she has put on weight and is little keen on beauty and make up, perhaps because of her grief and sense of loss that drives her to feel less worthy or concerned anymore about life. Dana also contemplates her loss through the epilogue section and states her worry about how Jordan may be affected by the loss when time comes for him to know and how she may be able to answer his questions about his father’s death.
Dana tattoos herself on the favorite spot of the able that Monroe loved to kiss her, and asked by friends how other men would think Dana plainly states: “I would hope he would understand it is a mark of a woman whose love is forever (Canedy, 2009).” Dana states that she feels that she may never fall in love again. Throughout this section Dana portrays how the grief and loss has transformed her life in a very tremendous way. The whole section of the epilogue is like a speech or letter addressed to Monroe and briefing him about the life of his wife and son.
Summary of the whole book
Sergeant Monroe begun writing the 200 paged journals that he would later send to his wife prior to his death. The journal was meant for his son in the event that he did not make it to get back home from the war in Iraq. In 2006 October Monroe died in Iraq aged 48. The death was caused by an improvised bomb that detonated and blew up his truck near Baghdad.
At this time his child Jordan had attained seven months, and his dream of going back home to take care of him became shattered. Monroe was a father figure to the military men under him. He served with diligence in many nations out America and enjoyed his work. Monroe’s journal counsel’s his son on virtually all aspects of life, asking him to work hard, be courteous and develop a good personality. He also wrote a little about his past as a young man and boy.
Through the Journal he also recounted a few breathtaking events on the war in Iraq. Monroe finished his journal two weeks before his death. After his death his wife Dana pieced up the story of Sergeant Monroe and those of her life and came up with a story weaved with excerpts from Monroe’s journal meant for his son. She narrates how the two were like mismatched souls that finally fell in love due to fate. Through her narration we learn that Dana was a Pulitzer Prize winner and an editor for the New York Times.
On the other hand, Monroe was a military sergeant who was brash, impatient and an introvert that was shy and only put military service first. Dana narrates their courtship that took long and survived because of his persistence despite Dana’s dislike for men in the military. Their story unfolds gradually and they finally get into a marriage and decide to have a son, but Monroe is deployed shortly to Iraq and therefore could not be present to witness the birth of his son.
Monroe met his death two weeks before he could come home to be with his newly born son. The news sent Dana into a state of grief for long and yearning grows in her to know more about what happened on the last days of her husband, perhaps due to her journalistic instincts. Finally, she seeks information with difficulty, because of the army’s confidentiality and manages to put a count of what happened. She finally, decided to author this piece of literary work that portrays the grief of widows and orphans of the Iraq War and other similar wars.
References
Canedy, D. (2009),. A Journal for Jordan: A Story of Love and Honor, Crown Publishing Group
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