“Reading together when we can has helped with continuity.”

Key to the Reed’s experience was reading the same book as a basis for communication and to stay bonded.

Jim Reed was deployed overseas for seven months. His wife, Katherine, and their two children read Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney while he was away, and read with Jim over Skype.

The family used several methods to communicate about the book – text messages, phone calls, e-blueys, Skype, FaceTime (using an iphone), e-mails, and letters. In a touching e-bluey (which appears in the Reed scrapbook) Jim wrote, ‘I miss you girls so much but love our Skype chats! Especially when we read together. I can’t wait to come home and read the others [books] with you.

’ Katherine wrote, ‘We love to read as a family. It has been really hard for my husband being away as he misses those special times so much. Reading together when we can has helped with continuity. The girls have just loved it, as have we!’ When Jim was on leave the family met up for a two week holiday in Cape Town, South Africa. The photograph on the cover of their Reading Force scrapbook is taken from this holiday.

Read the article in Army & You for the full story.

Location:     Service: Army