“I’m excited to share my stories with the World.”
That from a Southwest Michigan mother of two, Army combat veteran, wife and St. Joseph credit union employee who lives in Allegan. Next month, she’s launching her literary career with the release of her first novel, flowing from her service in Iraq.
Cecilia A. Garcia is the author of the upcoming ‘Always Forward’ series. It’s a military fiction series that faces issues dealing with post traumatic stress, survivor’s guilt and sexual trauma in captivity. Although ‘Always Forward’ is completely fiction, Garcia did draw off her own experiences from serving in the US Army.
Garcia on duty on Iraq
Garcia served eight years in the Army as an ’88M20′, a truck driver, with one combat deployment to Iraq. She received the Purple Heart from injuries sustained in action on May 25th, 2004. Since leaving the military, Garcia has become an advocate for the mental health community and raising awareness around what it is like to live with PTSD.
Garcia tell us that she has a passion for speaking out on mental health and breaking the stigma around living with PTSD. Her goal is that mental health becomes normalized and more people realize that it truly is “okay to not be okay”. Through her writings, she hopes that people can connect with the stories, no matter if they have military background or not.
Garcia has been married to her husband, whom she met in the military, for 21 years. Together, they have two daughters, three dogs and two cats. When she is not writing, she loves to run, practice yoga, working in her gardens and of course, she loves to read!!
Of course, you’re wondering about the plot of the book! So here’s a tease, the blurb or synopsis of ‘Always Forward’ from Garcia’s website:
Sgt. Emily Sanders considered herself a soldier first, but that didn’t make it any easier to leaver her four-year-old daughter and infant daughter behind when she left for a year-long deployment to Iraq. Sanders’ was on a routine mission when her convoy was ambushed by insurgents. Those that survived had no choice to leave the casualties behind. But when the unit went back to clear the vehicles and retrieve the fallen, Sanders was not one of the confirmed dead.
After eight years of searching, the military had no choice but to change her status from MIA- missing in action, to KIA, killed in action. Tara Sanders might have been young when her mother left and never returned home, but she never believed that her mother was dead. Tara is going back to the last place her mother was seen alive in the hopes to learn more about her mother’s death. If there was anything Tara remembered about her mother it was her motto, you only move in one direction- Always Forward.
Where did the concept come from? Garcia tells us, “I originally came up with the story line for Always Forward while serving in Iraq and it stayed in my head for about 16 years before I finally began to write bits and pieces of it. The fall of 2019 was when I got serious with writing it and then when Covid hit, I continued to write. ”
She says she’s not done with Sargent Emily Sanders and her family. “I plan on releasing two more novellas in this series (both in 2022), and will have a spin-off series for some of the other characters as well (2023-2024).”
Cecilia A. Garcia
Garcia says the writing has been very personal. “Although this series is fiction, I drew off many of my personal experiences of being injured in Iraq and living with PTSD.”
MOTM asked her why she slightly altered her identity to become an author. “I chose a pen name because- why not?! This series is going to be a little controversial for some people and groups, and I wanted to distinguish myself as an author and try to keep this separate from being a mother, wife and credit union employee. The name Cecilia was given to me at my 8th grade confirmation, and is the patron saint of music. And music is a huge part of my life, so it fits me perfectly!”
Garcia feels her new role as a professional author will contribute to what she considers her higher mission in life. “Over the last 17 years since being home from Iraq, I have made it my mission to raise awareness around mental health. I organized for three years an event called Upward Spiral, which was a 24-hour free event where people could run/walk on an indoor track, do yoga, and other activities. We partnered with Allegan County Mental Health to have resources on site for people, along with Griffin’s Place and other organizations. It was great and helped to bring awareness to mental health and how physical activities can help you mentally.”
She adds, “I have also done other big runs, like my Alive Day Run in 2017 for Honor Credit Union, where I ran 40+ miles in 12 hours to raise money for several Veteran Organizations and the VA hospital. I also speak to businesses and organizations on what it’s like to be a female combat veteran and the stigmas that go with that label.”
Garcia told us she now considers Michigan’s Great Southwest to be home. ” I am originally from Ohio, and moved to Michigan after my husband and I completed our active duty Army enlistment contracts. He is from West Michigan, and we wanted to be close to his family and still be relatively close to mine. We have lived in Allegan for the last 18 years, and even in the same historic farmhouse for all these years!”
‘Always Forward’ is set to release on September 25.
The kindle version may be accessed on Amazon. Keep up with local distribution or learn more on Garcia’s website: https://www.authorceciliagarcia.com/
