It’s the start of a new year so I thought I’d introduce myself to new followers and reintroduce myself to followers who may not have seen me in their feeds lately.
My name is Heather Sweeney, and I’m the author of the memoir CAMOUFLAGE: How I Emerged from the Shadows of a Military Marriage. The book is about my journey from being overshadowed by my husband’s military career to rediscovering my identity after divorce as a single mother approaching middle age. CAMOUFLAGE is my first book, but hopefully not my last!
I’m also a freelance writer with bylines in very cool places like The New York Times, Washington Post, HuffPost, Business Insider, Newsweek, Good Housekeeping, and many more. I typically write essays, creative nonfiction, and the occasional poem, covering topics like divorce and relationships, life as a military spouse, parenting, and women’s health. I don’t have an MFA (my writing education stems from a blog I started in 2010), and I have a full-time job (so all of this writing gets done in my free time).
What will you find here? You’ll see posts about my memoir, my insights on the writing life, my boyfriend of over a decade, a small handful of my college-aged kids, and most certainly my 14-year-old labrador retriever named Gunner.
If you’re new here, please introduce yourself! If you’re not, say hello and let me know what you’re up to! To everyone who sees this, thanks for being here (and for getting this far). Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2026 filled with everything you’re hoping for!
#author #writer #memoir #militaryspouse #divorce
Surreal. That’s the word for holding my book in my hands for the first time. Absolutely surreal.
🔗 Link to preorder CAMOUFLAGE in bio. (But it’s available for preorder pretty much wherever you preorder books.)
#memoir #debutauthor #unboxing #camouflage #militaryspouse #divorce #singlemomlife #books
I had such a great conversation about losing my voice in my marriage, the struggles of life as a military spouse, starting over financially after divorce, and much more on the Bent Not Broken podcast. Thanks for having me on as a guest, @deborahgriffiths7 !
🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts. 🎧
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#podcast #memoir #divorce #author #books
The past few days have been a whirlwind of travel, family time, celebrations, and happy tears. It’s not every day your son graduates from college, but when that day comes, you enjoy every single second of it. I’m so proud of the hard work, persistence, and determination that earned this guy a degree from @jamesmadisonuniversity . Can’t wait to see where the next chapter takes him! 👨🏼🎓 💜 💛 👨🏼🎓
The next week is bringing some pretty big life milestones for me. If you’ll excuse me I’ll be taking some deep breaths, grabbing some tissues and staring at this photo wondering where the time has gone.
Four years ago I was in the NYT Tiny Love Stories for the first of two times sharing about families and my hysterectomy. Love my family. ❤️
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#womenshealth #hysterectomy #family
Four generations of women in my family, each born on a different continent. My Oma was born in the Netherlands (Europe). My mom was born in Venezuela (South America). I was the boring one born in the United States (North America). And my daughter was born in Japan (Asia). Thank you to my Oma and my mom for being the amazing role models they’ve been for me as strong women and mothers. Happy Mother’s Day!
Two years ago I attended the virtual Nonfiction Writers Conference, where I pitched my unpublished memoir on a live Zoom with over 80 attendees, including 3 agents and 1 editor. Friends, this is how I had to pitch my book. But he must have been good luck because a year and a half later, after signing with an agent at that conference, that memoir hit bookshelves.
#memoir #author #writinglife #labrador
Today is Military Spouse Appreciation Day. I was a military spouse for 13 years, and I treasure the friendships that military life brought me. To all the military spouses out there doing the strong, independent military spouse life, I send you lots of virtual hugs and high fives. You rock.
I originally wrote this back when I was still a military spouse, but I could have written it today. (Link in bio.) And you can read more about my years as a military spouse in my memoir CAMOUFLAGE.
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#military #militaryspouse #militaryspouseappreciationday
Happy 15th birthday to Gunner! This dog has been through a lot, with 3 near death experiences when we said our goodbyes and prepared to live without him. He was by my side during my divorce, he’s been a loving companion throughout my kids’ lives, and he inspired me to write about him for a Chicken Soup for the Soul book (he also appears in my memoir CAMOUFLAGE). It truly is a miracle to be celebrating his 15 years. We love you, Gunner! Thanks for bringing so much joy to our family.🐾❤️
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#labrador #dogsofinstagram #seniordogs
