What does it truly mean to be the wife of a Lieutenant Colonel?
In this heartfelt and deeply personal book, Arlene Van Tassel shares her journey of loving a man shaped by military service, leadership, discipline, and sacrifice. As a Filipina married to retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Josh Van Tassel, she discovers that life beside an officer involves far more than honor, rank, and respect. It requires patience through distance, courage during uncertainty, and the strength to unite two very different worlds.
With honesty and warmth, Arlene explores the realities of a cross-cultural marriage the meeting of Filipino family values and American independence, warmth and structure, spontaneity and discipline. She also confronts the expectations placed upon Filipinas married to foreigners, including financial pressures, cultural adjustment, public judgment, and the struggle to preserve one’s identity.
What It’s Like to Be the Wife of a Lieutenant Colonel is a story of faith, resilience, cultural understanding, and enduring love. It honors the unseen sacrifices of military spouses while reminding every wife that she is more than her husband’s title she is a partner with her own voice, dignity, and strength.
Above all, this book reveals that a lasting marriage is not built on rank, status, or perfection. It is created through respect, perseverance, honest communication, and the daily decision to keep choosing one another.