In "A Modest Trumpet Fanfare," Ashland author Molly Best Tinsley explores the emotional costs of military life beyond the battlefield, arguing that while service members go to war, "families serve too."
Tinsley draws on a lifetime shaped by military culture. A self-described "Air Force brat," she grew up in occupied Japan and Germany before spending two decades teaching at the U.S. Naval Academy. She left academia, in what she describes as a "fit of sanity," to write full-time.
The novel examines how military culture can shape family life long after the uniforms come off. Tinsley said the mindset of conflict — of always "having an enemy" — can extend into the home and influence relationships.
She recalls a childhood marked by frequent moves, where home was packed into boxes every few years and putting down roots was nearly impossible. Her family, she said, became a "mini fortress" governed by the unspoken rule that "nothing went outside the family."
Her father, an Air Force meteorologist, often reinforced military hierarchy at home, telling the family, "I'm the boss in this family." Tinsley said those experiences also taught her that public appearances often concealed private struggles.
"You put your best foot forward," she said. "But it was always a performance. That's the game."
Now living in Ashland, Tinsley said she sees fiction as a way to explore experiences that resist simple explanations. She uses her writing to examine family, memory and identity.
"Narrative is an instrument for making truths concrete," she said.
She also encourages writers to prioritize imagination over branding and metrics, arguing that publishing has become increasingly focused on measurable results.
Through "A Modest Trumpet Fanfare," she hopes readers gain a better understanding of the millions of children whose lives are shaped by military service, even when they never wear the uniform themselves.
Guest
- Molly Best Tinsley, author, A Modest Trumpet Fanfare
