Unwavering

The Wives Who Fought to Ensure No Man Is Left Behind

By: Taylor Baldwin Kiland, Judy Silverstein Gray

Narrated by: Susan Ericksen

The true story of the women who waged an epic home front battle to ensure our nation leaves no man behind.

When some of America's military men are captured or go missing during the Vietnam War, a small group of military wives become their champions. Never had families taken on diplomatic roles during wartime, nor had the fate of our POWs and missing men been a nationwide concern. In cinematic detail, authors Taylor Baldwin Kiland and Judy Silverstein Gray plunge you directly into the political maneuvering the women navigated, onto the international stage they shared with world leaders, and through the landmark legacy they created.

©2023 Taylor Baldwin Kiland and Judy Silverstein Gray (P)2023 Tantor

Women who changed US foreign policy re: POW & MIA

I read lots of Military History but I didn't know this story. Unwavering covers the campaign led by the wives of American POWs and MIAs during Vietnam. Early in the war, these women were told by the military and the government to stay quiet and trust the system. They didn't. They wrote letters, showed up in Washington, confronted bureaucracies, and forced policymakers to treat the POW/MIA crisis as a national priority. "Leave No Man Behind" which is now baked into American military ethos owes a lot to them.
In audio form, this one hits differently. Built from interviews and personal accounts, it feels less like a history book and more like sitting with people who lived it. The pacing holds the tension of the era without losing the human thread underneath.
It's important today because it demonstrates something beyond Vietnam. It's a masterclass in how a small, organized group of civilians can change policy at the highest levels. Not just the United States but internationally as well. These women had no formal power, no budget, no political office. What they had was moral clarity and refusal to accept the status quo. They moved governments. That playbook hasn't expired. Anyone interested in advocacy, policy change, or how citizen pressure actually works should pay attention to what these women pulled off. It's also a book that should be covered in K-12 education as part of civics and history.
So, it is a Vietnam book, but not a battlefield one. It's about another aspect of the war, fought in living rooms, congressional offices, and the press.