Stacy Bannerman's husband, Lorin was a 43-year-old Sergeant First Class in the reserve army who had never thought he'd be called upon to wage war, but in October 2003 he was called to active duty as an Infantry Mortar Platoon Sergeant. He had completed his duty and commitment to the U.S. Army as of 22 June, 2004, but due to President Bush's Stop Loss order, he was on the war's front-lines until at least April 2005. Stacy Bannerman has a unique vantage point for writing "When The War Came Home". On the one hand, she is like the many thousands of women left behind while their reservist husbands and partners are sent to fight in Iraq - for as ill-equipped as their husbands are to wage war, the families left behind are often even less equipped to cope. On the other hand, Stacy Bannerman has the singular viewpoint of being a high-profile career peace activist, who ultimately finds herself at odds with her husband fighting on the front lines of Iraq in one of the most dangerous assignments in the Army.
Bannerman describes the countdown to her husband's deployment, and documents her ongoing struggle to reconcile her anti-war sentiments with the need to support and honor her husband for the choice he made and for the risks he's taking for his country.