Upcoming Events:

 July 14th, 2010 - live TV interview, San Antonio Living with Shelly Miles, WOAI-TV, NBC channel 4 - 10:30am

June 2010 - We're looking forward to the arrival of our very own baby boy, Michael Blaine Dawalt - our beautiful baby boy was born on May 31st.  He decided to be a Memorial Day baby instead of a June baby.

January 2008 - My husband came home from 15 months at Camp Taji, Iraq! (This really happened, it wasn't just a mirage! Just couldn't bring myself to move this to past events...)

Sara in the News:

Good Morning Austin - FOX 7 Austin, November 12th, 2007

Killeen Daily Herald Weekender section - November 16th, 2007

December 9th, 2007 - radio interview, KBSG 97.3 FM, Voices Around the Sound with Marion Charatan, Seattle, WA - 6-7am PT

December 15-16th, 2007 - radio interview, KXXT AM 1010 & KXEG AM 1280, Phoenix, AZ - Spotlight with Mark Johnson airing four times throughout the weekend

December 17th, 2007 - Live radio interview, Lifestyle Radio Network, Michael Dresser Show - 4:30pm CT

December 21st, 2007 - Live radio interview, KCRS - 550 AM "The Morning Drive", Midland/Odessa, TX - 7:30am CT

December 21st, 2007 - radio interview, The Marc Bernier Show, WFHG 92.7 FM, Bristol, VA- Tennessee - 11:35am ET

December 21st, 2007 - radio interview, The Marc Bernier Show, WNDB 1150 AM, Daytona Beach, FL - 4:20 pm ET

December 27th, 2007 - Live radio interview, "Open Lines," KVCL 1270 AM, Winnfield, LA - 7:30am CT

December 27th, 2007 - radio interview, BookMarc, The Marc Bernier Show, WNDB 1150 AM, Daytona Beach, FL - 5:05pm CT

December 28th, 2007 - radio interview, Sirius 161 FamilyNet Radio - Mornings with Lorri and Friends (Lorri and Larry) - 7-8am ET

January 1st, 2008 - Venus Divas magazine

March 6th, 2008 - online radio interview, spousebuzz.com - 8:05pm CT

April 18th, 2008 - Live radio interview, 97.5 FM, Darren and Chrissy Show, Waco, TX - around 8:20am CT

June 2nd, 2008 - Live online radio interview, Army Wife Talk Radio - 8:00pm ET

November 13th, 2009 - online media interview, "The Fallout from Fort Hood" by Jordan Lite - ivillage.com

 February 12th, 2010 - pre-recorded interview on KPLE-TV, "Let's Get Real" with Beverly Williams - noon (Channel 45 on Heart of Texas Time Warner Cable)

Past Events:

November 14th, 2009 - Book Signing, Barnes and Noble, Northwoods, San Antonio, TX - 1pm-3pm

August 15th, 2009 - Book Signing, Barnes and Noble, Market Heights, Harker Heights, TX - 11am-3pm

May 16th, 2009 - Book Signing, Alumnae Market, Meredith College, Raleigh, NC - 12-1:30pm

April 18th, 2009 - Book Signing, Borders, Killeen Mall - 2-4pm

April 11th, 2009 - Book Signing, Hastings, Killeen, TX - 2-4pm

February 28th, 2009 - Take 190 West Arts Festival, Killeen Civic and Convention Center, Killeen, TX - panel discussion at noon, book signing all day

July 19th, 2008 - Book signing, Chaffee/McNair Village Bazaar, Fort Hood, TX - 10:00-4:00

May 17th, 2008 - Book signing, Borders Express, Killeen Mall, Killeen, TX - 2-6pm

April 27th, 2008 - Book signing, Clear Creek PX, Fort Hood, TX - 1:00pm

April 19th, 2008 - Book signing, Hastings, Killeen, TX - 1:00pm

March 27th, 2008 - Book signing, O Day, North Fort Hood

February 16th, 2008 - Book signing, PX, Fort Bragg, NC - 1pm

December 22nd, 2007 - Book Signing PX, Fort Sill, OK - 12pm

December 16th, 2007 - Book Signing PX, Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, TX - 12pm

December 1st, 2007 - Book Signing at Borders Express, Killeen Mall, Killeen, TX - 2pm

November 17th, 2007 - Book Signing at Clear Creek PX, Fort Hood, TX - 3pm

November 12th, 2007 - Interview, Fox in the Morning Austin, TX - 7:40am on Channel 7

November 3rd, 2007 - Book Signing Hastings Bookstore, Killeen, TX - 1pm

Press Release: In April, Defense Secretary Robert Gates extended tours of duty from 12 months to 15, for active-duty Army soldiers. Additionally, according to americanprogress.org, 420,000 troops have been sent to Iraq more than once since the start of the war. The rising rate of deployment and lengthened tours cause undue stress on service members and their families and can lead to the breakdown of the family unit.  

  Sara Dawalt, author of 365 Deployment Days: A Wife's Survival Story faced this situation when her husband was deployed to Iraq for his first tour of duty. Lonely, hopeless, frustrated and angry, with a marriage that was seemingly solid, she even considered divorce as an option - a thought she had not flirted with before.

 "I nearly ran away from my marriage and the military life," says Dawalt, an Army wife whose husband is now serving his second tour of duty in Iraq, this time for 15 months. "I did not get married to be alone, but I kept my feelings bottled up to spare my husband so he didn't worry about me. It wasn't until Brandon came home for R and R that we really started communicating, which was nearly the point-of-no-return in our marriage."

 In her book, Sara chronicles the strain and stress brought on by geographic separation. From anger to joy, she catalogs the annoyance of dropped calls from half-way around the world to victories of making it on her own. Motivated by a desire to help others going through a similar experience, Dawalt wants the book to be a source of hope and strength for other military wives and civilian spouses living apart.

 Dawalt credits things like exercise and the companionship of her dog, as well as her community of friends, for helping her survive her husband's deployment. Additionally, 365 Deployment Days brings light to various fears of military families and the positive and negative aspects of modern-day communication during war time.

"Deployment is never easy." says Dawalt. "Surviving it is something you have to decide you want to do and work for it every day. My husband's deployment was very difficult, but it allowed me to really discover myself. I am a much better person because of it."

Visit the "About Sara" page to learn more about her. Or even better click on "Buy 365 Deployment Days" and read her story to get to know Sara.