Eyes Right

Author's Summary

Just out of high school in 1977, her personal life  already a mess, Tracy Crow thought the Marines might straighten her out. And sure enough, in the Corps she became a respected public affairs officer and military journalist—one day covering tank maneuvers or beach assaults, the next interviewing the secretary of the navy. But success didn’t come without a price. When Crow pledged herself to God, Corps, and Country, women Marines were still a rarity, and gender inequality and harassment were rampant. Determined to prove she belonged, Crow always put her career first—even when, after two miscarriages and a stillborn child, her marriage to another Marine officer began to deteriorate. And when her affair with a prominent general was exposed—and both were threatened with court-martial—Crow was forced to re-evaluate her loyalty to the Marines, her career, and her family.
Eyes Right is Crow’s story. A clear-eyed  self-portrait of a troubled teen bootstrapping her way out of a world of  alcoholism and domestic violence, it is also a rare inside look at the  Marines from a woman’s perspective. Her memoir, which includes two Pushcart Prize–nominated essays, evokes the challenges of being a woman and a Marine with immediacy and clarity, and in the process reveals how much Crow’s generation did for today’s military women, and at what cost.ere.

MWSA Review

Eyes Right is a fascinating story of the author’s experiences as a U.S. Marine.  When she joined the marines in the late 1970’s, Tracy Crow, whether she knew it or not, had become an anomaly in the Corps: a female Marine. As such, she was now part of a distinct minority who faced limited chances to succeed or even be integrated into the mainstream of Marine life. Her experiences and fight to excel make for an interesting and easy read. The author makes no attempt to soft peddle or glamorize her experiences. She tells you how it was and how she both excelled and screwed up – no excuses. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about the lives and experiences or our military personnel, and especially to those who might be interested in knowing what it was like to have been a woman marine.

Reviewed by: Bob Doerr (2013)