52 Weeks of Cookies: How One Mom Refused to Be Beaten by Her Son's Deployment

by Maggie McCreath

Overview

Single mother Maggie McCreath couldn’t decide which was worse: the fact that her only son (not yet twenty-one) was off to war in Iraq for the second time or the fact that they had only five days to prepare. Even more frightening, she knew that he would be part of the Surge and, as a paratrooper in the 82nd Division of the Army, the tip of the Spear. What she did not know—what she couldn’t even bear to consider—was how this deployment would end, both for her son and for his brothers in arms, whom she had come to know and love as her own. So she turned to the one pastime that had always brought her solace: baking.

Filled with delicious, original cookie recipes, 52 Weeks of Cookies recounts a mom’s unique methods of coping during her son’s deployment. With plenty of sugar cookies but no sugarcoating, 52 Weeks of Cookies is an honest, uplifting story of family love during a crisis, with all the fear, grief, laughter, gratitude, and joy that come with it. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781942934363
Publisher:	Familius
Publication date:	03/08/2016
Pages:	348
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Maggie McCreath is a single mom with two grown kids. She received a degree in Computer Science from George Mason University, and has worked in the field for over thirty years. Her life has always revolved around her family. Her kids began as her pride and joy, and have grown into her best friends and confidants.

Her daughter Haley is the oldest. She has a degree in Journalism from Virginia Commonwealth University; however, after working for a national news organization here in Washington, DC, for four years, she determined that way of life was not for her. She currently works for a pub managing the bar and producing local radio commercials in mid-western Virginia.

Her son, Buddy, enlisted in the Army during his senior year of High School and became Airborne directly after boot camp. He has served with the Airborne Corps up until January 2015 when he began Warrant Officer Candidate School. After successfully completing the school work, he will fly helicopters.

Though Maggie's interest in the military strengthened with her son's enlistment, her fondness for the military and those who serve began years earlier. Her father served during World War II, and she has spent a large portion of her adult life in direct support of the military. This includes the fifteen years she worked for the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, with an additional five years working for the Pentagon at an off-site facility. On September 11, 2001, though Maggie was not at the Pentagon, she was at an off-site location working in direct support of its mission. The events of 9/11 not only catapulted her to the position she holds now, but have undoubtedly shaped her family's lives as well.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Pre-Cookie Week
        (Get ready . . . Get set . . . No wait, I'm not ready!)

Pre-Cookie Week 2
    (I'm not crying, I just have something in my eye.)

Pre-Cookie Week 3
        (Passing the time with Whiskey . . . the dog, not the bottle!)

Pre-Cookie Week 4
        (When life gives you lemons . . . )

Pre-Cookie Week 5
        (Because sometimes you just want to throw something!)

Cookie Week 1
        (Me First!)

Cookie Week 2
        (Tis folly to be wise . . . or even to want to know)

Cookie Week 3
        (The elephant in the room)

Cookie Week 4
        (Ouch!!)

Cookie Week 5
        (While we are on the subject . . . )

Cookie Week 6
       (Happy New-valen-saint-easter-hollow-give-mas Day)

Cookie Week 7
        (A moment to stir the pot . . . )

Cookie Week 8
        (I'll get you my little pretty . . . You and your little dog Toto, too)

Cookie Week 9
        ( . . . but have you saved any orphans?!)

Cookie Week 10
        (Here comes Peter Cottontail . . . )

Cookie Week 11
        (Let the games begin!)

Cookie Week 12
       (To be a soldier's mom . . . )

Cookie Week 13
        (The heel bone's connected to the toe bone, Oh hear the word of the Lord!)

Cookie Week 14
      (There are no words . . . )

Cookie Week 15
        (My dad always said, “If you cant say any thing nice . . ." Why didn't I listen?)

Cookie Week 16
        (When is a mother not a mother?)

Cookie Week 17
        (Curiosity was bad for the cat . . . and it hasn't been much better for me!)

Cookie Week 18
        (Happy birthday to you . . . Happy birthday to you . . . )

Cookie Week 19
         (Real men use Duct Tape . . . as do the mothers of soldiers!)

Cookie Week 20
        (You'll be in my heart . . . Always!!)

Cookie Week 21
        (The more the merrier . . . Right?)

Cookie Week 22
       (Thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand; Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
       (The Star Spangled Banner, forth stanza)

Cookie Week 23
 (Limp Latex and Cold Spit!)

Cookie Week 24
 (But if you really believe it, does it make it true?)

Cookie Week 25
 (Sometimes you just need to speak your mind!)

Cookie Week 26
 (Do wa diddy diddy dum diddy do!!!)

Cookie Week 27
 (Fingers crossed . . . Knock on wood . . . Live long and prosper?)

Cookie Week 28
 (The more we get together, the happier we'll be!)

Cookie Week 29
 (Heaven only knows!!)

Cookie Week 30
 (The waiting really is the hardest part)

Homecoming
 (The eagle is landing . . . if only for 18 days)

Intermission Week 1
 (So . . . What is your favorite drinking song??)

Intermission Week 2
 (So, a man walks into a bar . . . OUCH!)

The Party
 (Let the celebrations begin! Well . . . maybe just continue?!)

Intermission Week 3
 (Hey! It's my birthday, too!!)

Good-byes
 (All good things must come to an end . . . And it's a cursed shame!)

Cookie Week 31
 (Sometimes ya just need a change of scenery)

Cookie Week 32
        (I know how to spell Mommy How do you spell support?)

Cookie Week 33
       (Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble!!)

Cookie Week 34
        (Put on you boots, boots, boots and parachute, 'chute 'chute . . . )

Cookie Week 35
        (How much is that doggie in the window? . . . The one with the waggily tail?!)

Cookie Week 36
        ( Something's lost and something's gained in living ever day . . . Joni Mitchell, 1969)

Cookie Week 37
    (One man's trash . . . ummm, STD . . . is another man's treasure?! . . . Or, something like that!)

Cookie Week 38
       (Sometimes, a day is just a day.)

Cookie Week 39
     (The unnecessary necessity . . . )

Cookie Week 40
      (We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing . . . and His protection, and His grace, and His forgiveness . . . )

Cookie Week 41
       (When good superstitions go bad . . . )

Cookie Week 42
        (Say it with flowers . . . BEARS!)

Cookie Week 43
       (Yes Virginia . . . umm, Maggie . . . There is a Santa Claus!)

Cookie Week 44
       (I have good news, and bad news . . . which do you want first?)

Cookie Week 45
 (And as little Tiny Tim . . . and the Christmas idiot . . . said, God bless us, everyone!)

Cookie Week 46
       (Reflections!)

Cookie Week 47
       (Aren't we there yet?!)

Cookie Week 48
      (So . . . It's kinda hard to explain . . . )

Cookie Week 49
 (The Good, the bad . . . and the ridiculous!)

Cookie Week 50
       (The light at the end of the tunnel . . . )

Cookie Week 51
     (Let it snow, let it snow, oh please let it snow . . . I think!)

Cookie Week 52
       (Coming full circle)

Post-Cookie Week 1
       (My kids . . . My heart . . . My heroes!)

Post-Cookie Week 2
       (No, seriously!! . . . Aren't we there, yet?!)

Post-Cookie Week 3
        (The beginning of the end)

Post-Cookie Week 4
    (Finally! The fat lady sang!!)

Post-Cookie Week 5 . . . and then some
       (I hate good byes!)

Epilogue
(It's not over 'til it's over!)
 

Editorial Reviews

"All who have had a loved one serving America far from home in harm’s way will love this story. Every deployed Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Guardsman or Marine waiting for a 'care package,' will love these cookies! Maggie McCreath has combined these ingredients with a full measure of faith, love, a generous portion of perseverance and a dash of humor to create a great-tasting book! 52 Weeks of Cookies is much more than a 'cookbook.' It’s a love story—and a mouth-watering recipe for life."
—Lt. Col. Oliver North, USMC (Ret.) Host of  “War Stories” on FOX News Channel NYT bestselling author of the American Heroes book series

From the Publisher

All who have had a loved one serving America far from home in harm’s way will love this story. Every deployed Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Guardsman or Marine waiting for a “care package,” will love these cookies! Maggie McCreath has combined these ingredients with a full measure of faith, love, a generous portion of perseverance and a dash of humor to create a great-tasting book!52 Weeks of Cookiesis much more than a “cookbook.” It’s a love story—and a mouth-watering recipe for life.

—LtCol Oliver North, USMC (Ret.)Host of “War Stories” on FOX News Channel & NYT bestselling author of theAmerican Heroesbook series

Endorsements