<p><strong>#1 BEST SELLER and #1 NEW RELEASE</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong style="color: rgba(98, 74, 15, 1)"><em>They said women couldn't keep up.</em></strong></p><p><strong style="color: rgba(98, 74, 15, 1)"><em>They said women weren't strong enough to do the military's toughest jobs.</em></strong></p><p><strong style="color: rgba(98, 74, 15, 1)"><em>In 1995, a ragtag band of civilians came to prove them wrong. </em></strong></p><p><strong style="color: rgba(98, 74, 15, 1)"><em>THE STRONG ONES will inspire a new generation with its cast of ordinary women overcoming daunting obstacles-and will thrill readers with a stunning and heartwarming twist.</em></strong></p><p><br></p><p><em>The Strong Ones</em> is the inspiring true story of forty-five civilian women, including the author, who volunteered for a controversial seven-month Army strength study in 1995-and proved just how strong women can get. A hybrid of memoir and military history that will appeal to fans of <em>Wild</em> and <em>Ashley's War,</em> <em>The Strong Ones</em> lays bare the raw emotions, vulnerabilities and body image struggles of those who dug deep to show what it means to be a strong woman-in every sense.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>With females still banned from combat</strong> <strong>and their supposed lack of </strong>physical strength used as a reason to keep them out, women from around Massachusetts-including moms, teachers, a landscaper, a prison guard, a journalist and one solider-came to change the rules. Female soldiers were busy serving their country so these civilians stepped in, forming a sisterhood like no other through 75-lb backpack hikes, 110-lb trailer pulls, shared pain, keg parties, snowball fights and a refusal to fail.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Author Sara Hammel, a test subject and reporter with exclusive </strong>access<strong> </strong>to the study, traces the women and their results through the years, revealing how their efforts came full circle decades later when <em>all</em> military jobs were opened up to women. Exclusive interviews with former <strong>Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, </strong>former<strong> Congresswoman Pat Schroeder </strong>and <strong>Shannon Faulkner </strong>add context to this historic shift in military policy, anchoring the study firmly in the present.</p>