A story that stays in the hard moment with them

Deployment named honestly. Comfort given truly.

Cory and Kyler know their father is far away, and that knowing is real and heavy. The book doesn't move past it quickly — it stays there, in the missing, so children feel seen rather than managed.

Faith and guardian presence run through every page — not as a lesson delivered, but as the quiet hands already around them. Belonging across distance is the story's spine.

Written for military families who already know what courage looks like at the dinner table — and for any family navigating the weight of someone deeply loved and far away.

They may be apart — but they are never alone.

For every parent reading at bedtime, every teacher reaching for the right words, every child counting down the days — this book was made for that exact moment.

Words from families who needed this book

"My daughter's dad deployed last spring. I read this to her three nights in a row. She stopped asking me to make the missing go away — she just asked me to read it again."

"I keep this in my classroom library for the children who go quiet on Mondays. It opens conversations I didn't know how to start. Every school counselor should have a copy."

"The illustrations are extraordinary — each spread carries so much tenderness. Kalpart's work honors the children's experience without making it a spectacle."

— Military spouse, Virginia

— Elementary school counselor, Texas

— Children's librarian, North Carolina

Illustrated by Kalpart — whose tender, luminous artwork gives every page the dignity and warmth this story deserves.