NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A hauntingly beautiful account of a family fractured by war . . .
filled with vivid and heartbreaking details. The New York Times Book Review NOW A MAJOR MOTION
PICTURE Full of wonderful treasures offered by a unique and spirited father . . . written with
serene grace: part memoir part love story all heart. James McBride author of The Color of
Water In 2005 Dana Canedy s fiancé First Sergeant Charles Monroe King began to write what
would become a two-hundred-page journal for his son in case he did not make it home from the
war in Iraq. He was killed by a roadside bomb on October 14 2006. His son Jordan was seven
months old. Inspired by his example Dana was determined to preserve his memory for their son.
A Journal for Jordan is a mother s fiercely honest letter to her child about the parent he lost
before he could even speak. It is also a father s advice and prayers for the son he will never
know. A father figure to the soldiers under his command Charles moved naturally into writing
to his son. In neat block letters he counseled him on everything from how to withstand
disappointment and deal with adversaries to how to behfrave on a date. And he also wrote of
recovering a young soldier s body piece by piece from a tank and the importance of honoring
that young man s life. He finished the journal two months before his death while home on a
two-week leave so intoxicated with love for his infant son that he barely slept. This is also
the story of Dana and Charles together two seemingly mismatched souls who loved each other
deeply and lost each other too soon. A Journal for Jordan is a tender introduction a loving
good-bye a reporter s inquiry into her soldier s life and a heartrending reminder of the
human cost of war.
