Author: Lea CarpenterISBN: 9781444776263Publisher: Hodder & StoughtonYear first published: 08 Apr 2014Pages: 288 Format: Paperback / softback'An extraordinary accomplishment...' - Kevin Powers, author of The Yellow Birds'A compelling story made memorable by the strength of its elegant prose...' Toni Morrison'Think HOMELAND in fiction form...' - Red MagazineEleven Days is, at its heart, the story of a mother and a son.It begins in May 2011, when Sara's son Jason has been missing for nine days in the aftermath of a special operations forces mission. Out of devotion to him, Sara has made herself knowledgeable about things military, but she knows nothing more about her son's disappearance than the press corps camped out in her driveway. In a series of flashbacks we learn about Jason's absentee father - a man who died, according to 'insiders', helping to make the country safer - and Jason's decision to join the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis after 9/11. There he entered the toughest military training program in the world - for the U.S. Naval Special Warfare's SEAL Teams.Through Jason's letters written to his mother during his training, we see him becoming a strong, compassionate leader. But his fate will be determined by events that fall outside the sphere of his training, and far outside the strong embrace of his mother's love.As well as a moving picture of the bond between a mother and a son, this is a unique look into the training, history and culture of one of the world's elite forces. Page-turning and haunting, this is an astonishing debut which questions the very nature of sacrifice and love.
