Own Your Resilience - by Jennifer Ballou & Tom Sileo (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

An army veteran and professional life coach's battle plan for overcoming trauma and leading a joyful life.

Jennifer Ballou is the only known US military service member to lose her husband while serving simultaneously in the same war zone. Just after Father's Day in 2010, Staff Sergeant Eddie Loredo was killed in action in Afghanistan, leaving behind his wife and their infant son, as well as a step daughter and a daughter from a previous marriage.

After returning from Afghanistan and burying Eddie, Jen focused on caring for their son and her daughter while inviting those around her to help, listen and impart invaluable advice. She didn't know it yet, but Jen had helped lay the groundwork for an innovative new US Army program: Master Resilience Training. By the time she was asked to lead a military-wide effort to help families of fallen service members and veterans at Fort Bragg and later the Pentagon, Jen had already tested the resilience program on herself--and succeeded.

As Jen counseled those facing tough challenges during and after her distinguished military career, she helped countless people in and out of the military realize that conquering life isn't just about navigating obstacles, but experiencing joy while doing so. It's why one fellow Gold Star wife later called Jen "a pillar in my life when I needed it most" after completing the resilience training that Jen helped the Army deploy.

Own Your Resilience isn't just Jen's story of surviving and thriving after her husband's battlefield death, but an actionable plan for anyone to overcome trauma and lead a life filled with joy.

About the Author

JENNIFER BALLOU is a retired US Army Master Sergeant. Her 2010 deployment to Afghanistan ended early when her husband made the ultimate sacrifice. Jen is the owner of a business called A Joyful Life with Jennifer, a certified Professional Life Coach and Registered Yoga Teacher. Jen is also an alumna of the George W. Bush Presidential Center's Stand-To- Veteran Leadership program.
In 2023, Jen was promoted to Chief of Staff of the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation after joining the non-profit earlier that same year. She helped lead the organization's Congressionally designated effort to build a permanent memorial to America's post-9/11 heroes on the National Mall. Jen is now remarried with three children and lives in Ohio.

TOM SILEO has authored and co-authored six non-fiction books, including Three Wise Men and I Have Your Back for St. Martin's Press. He is a contributing senior editor of The Stream (stream.org) and former news producer and copy editor for CNN, Tribune Broadcasting and two local TV stations. He is married with two children and lives in Florida.