Sacred Spaces: My Journey to the Heart of Military Marriage, Paperback

The vulnerable true story of a journey that changed a military spouse's perspective of deployment, herself, and her military marriage.

Like many military couples, Corie and her husband, Matt, an Army chaplain, accumulated significant unshared moments during Matt's deployments. When Matt returned, he and Corie began using the term "sacred spaces" for significant moments they had experienced independently. After multiple deployments, sacred spaces were taking up a lot of emotional room in their relationship.

When US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter invited Corie, as the 2015 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year, to join his team on a one-week overseas holiday trip, she eagerly accepted, hoping to gain a better understanding of her husband's deployment experience and lessen the impact sacred spaces had on her marriage.

As Corie sat in the belly of a C-17, where her husband had said goodbye to the remains of friends and fellow soldiers, as she touched with her own hands the memorial at FOB Fenty and reflected on her grief as a care team member following the battle of COP Keating, Corie realized this journey was about much more than the push-pull of duty away from loved ones.

This was a journey to the heart of her marriage, a place where she would have to leave behind her resentment in exchange for ground she and her husband had surrendered to hurt, misunderstanding, loss--and to Afghanistan.

Corie set out on this trip hoping to gain a better understanding of her husband and his deployment experience, but along the way, she discovered a whole new perspective of herself and her military marriage. By sharing her story, Corie hopes to help other military couples strengthen their marriages.

Living Now Book Awards - Gold Medal for Best Relationships/Marriage Book
ForeWord INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards finalist
Midwest Book Awards finalist
Featured on the TODAY Show as Kathie Lee's "favorite thing."

CORIE WEATHERS is a military wife, licensed professional counselor (LPC), sought-after speaker, and consultant. She started her career as a counselor specializing in marriage, divorce, women's issues, and substance abuse. Certified to work with post-traumatic stress by the Center for Deployment Psychology, Corie found her passion working to build stronger relationships with military and first-responder couples.

As the 2015 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year, Corie advocated for mental health issues and served as a media correspondent writing for online and print publications, consulting for command teams, and speaking nationally on topics such as PTSD, grief, marriage, and military culture.

Corie is also the creator and host of Lifegiver Military Spouse Podcast, offering a positive place for honest conversations about military marriage as well as interviews with inspirational guests. She serves as an ambassador for the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation. Corie and her husband, Matthew, an Army chaplain, cohost marriage retreats and offer a free online marriage program designed to improve intimacy and connection.