As a single woman without the safety net of the
Army, Destiny Osgood struggles with life as a civilian, and an
amputee Just as she begins to get her bearings, sister Angela
challenges Destiny to take-on her estranged mother who is ravaged
by Alzheimer's. Little does Destiny know this will prove to be the
most difficult mission of her life. Torn between her core beliefs
of duty and honor, she battles resentment toward her mother after
being abandoned at ten years old. A choice must be made. Will she
master the challenge and discover forgiveness or find justification
for vengeance?
A new
normal—the term the Office of Personnel Management used when
Destiny had processed out of the Army after serving her country for
twelve years. Stone-faced, she stared at the officer as he handed
her the DD-214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active
Duty. Destiny slipped the paper into her rucksack and then stared
out into the abyss. What was normal, anyhow? What did he know? All
his chest candy didn’t mean a damn thing. As a lifer with two good
arms and hands, he hadn’t a clue about her normal. After twelve
years of service, she received eight hours of propaganda about VA
benefits, a “thanks for your service,” and then sent on her way.
Come on. How about some guidance on how to survive out there with
one arm? She felt neither happy nor sad. Strange was a better
description. She’d been military her whole life; first as a
military brat, a year at USMAPS (United States Military Academy
Preparatory School), a four-year West Point grad with a major in
International Affairs, then finally a soldier and an officer in the
United States Army. Her career had been a long haul, but thanks
Joanne Simon Tailele 2 to her colonel father and Senator Morgan
from North Carolina, she’d made it. Who was she as a civilian? Once
off the base and out of her uniform, Destiny felt like she’d been
transported to a new planet. She ate alone, shopped alone, lived
alone. The server at the local diner always greeted her with a
smile and a “table for one?” Some days, Destiny wanted to slap the
smile right off the server’s face and say, “No, a party of five.”
But there was no party of five. Instead, Destiny nodded and
followed the server to the small single table back by the kitchen.
Who wanted to watch an amputee eat alone?