''Eleven Days'' is the first novel written by

Lea Carpenter Lea du Pont Carpenter Brokaw is an American writer and editor. Her debut novel, ''Eleven Days (novel), Eleven Days'' (2013), was well received by critics. Early life and education Carpenter grew up in Wilmington, Delaware. She is a descendant of ...

. It was published in 2013. The novel is about a mother's bond with her son; about life choices; about the military, war, and service to one's country. The story is narrated by a woman named Sara whose son Jason is a member of the Special Operations Force in the

Navy SEALs The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy, U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command, Naval Special Wa ...

. Her son is subsequently deemed missing after a fictional raid on May 2, 2011, the night that Osama Bin Ladin had been killed. Sara is thus left in limbo, waiting to hear about the whereabouts of her missing son.

Plot summary

Sara's son Jason is missing from a Special Operations Forces mission undertaken on the same night as the Bin Laden raid. As Sara waits for news, in a series of flashbacks we learn about Jason's absentee father, while through letters home from his training and early missions, we get a picture of Jason as a strong, compassionate leader who is wise beyond his years and modest about his abilities. Those exceptional abilities give Jason the chance to participate in a wholly different level of assignment, the most important and dangerous of his career.

References

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External links

Lea Carpenter
discusses her book ''Eleven Days'' at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library 2013 American novels American war novels Alfred A. Knopf books 2013 debut novels {{2010s-war-novel-stub