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b'Welcome to this week\\u2019s episode of Women of the Military Podcast. My guest this week is not a female veteran, but is the author of Beyond the Point that is a novel focusing on 3 female cadets and their journey through West Point and beyond. I had an opportunity to read her novel and wanted to share it with all of you and talk to Claire about her military background and how this story came to be.\\nClaire Gibson is a writer based in Nashville, Tennessee. Born and raised at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Claire went on to study Political Science and Asian Studies at Furman University, where she was recruited by Teach for America to be a middle school history instructor. In 2012, she left the classroom to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a writer. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, The Tennessean, Marie Claire Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine and many others. BEYOND THE POINT is her debut novel.\\nClaire was at West Point from 1997 to 2003 she was 10 when they arrived and 16 when she left. She also was there during September 11th. A pivotal time as the cadets who joined prior to that day. Her mom had an open-door policy that allowed the cadets to escape West Point life and spend time at their home. She admired the cadets she met and has kept in contact with them to this day. And they were the ones who asked her to write this novel. \\nThe novel is a fictional story of three female cadets who attended West Point, but it is based on experiences that happened to women who attended West Point. So, though the experiences may not have happened to three women, they are experiences that women have faced or experienced. And even Claire\\u2019s mom\\u2019s experience is woven into the story too. As a female veteran I enjoyed the book because I related to so many of the experiences or had heard of women, I knew experiencing things mentioned. I also learned a lot about what it was like to be a cadet at West Point and other things going on during the war.\\nShe hopes people walk away from reading Beyond the Point having a better understanding of what the military is like and possibly bridge the gap between service members and civilians. But she also wants women to see the value of friendship and community. The book shares the story of three women and shows how important friendship is throughout their journey.\\nIf you are interested in reading the book please check out my affiliate link with Beyond the Point: A Novel">Amazon here. And if you are in the DC area and would like to meet Claire she will be at Politics and Prose at the Wharf on April 30th at 7. I\\u2019ll be there!\\nConnect with Claire:\\nhttp://www.clairegibson.com/ \\nInstagram\\nBook: Beyond the Point'