Own Your Resilience

Publication Date: November 10, 2026

Own Your Resilience

Jennifer Ballou with Tom Sileo

Publication Date: November 10, 2026

An Army veteran and professional life coach's battle plan for overcoming challenges and leading a joyful life.

Jennifer Ballou is one of the only known US military service members to lose her husband while serving simultaneously in the same war zone. Just after Father’s Day in 2010, Staff Sergeant Edwardo Loredo was killed in action in Afghanistan, leaving behind his wife and their infant son, as well as a step daughter and a daughter from a previous marriage.

After returning from Afghanistan and laying Eddie to rest, while still serving, Jen centered her life on caring for her children while also opening herself to the wisdom, support, and hard-earned guidance of those around her. What she could not yet see was that this instinct to listen, help, and improve systems was quietly shaping something larger. Those early choices helped lay the foundation for what would become the US Army’s Master Resilience Training program. By the time Jen was asked to lead resilience efforts for service members, families, and civilians at Fort Bragg and later at the Pentagon, she had already put the principles into practice in her own life, proving that resilience is not theoretical, but lived.

Own Your Resilience isn’t just Jen’s story of surviving and thriving after her husband’s battlefield death; it offers an actionable plan for anyone navigating profound loss, life-altering challenges, or unexpected change and seeking a life filled with purpose and joy.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Pic Credited (Tom Sileo)

TOM SILEO has authored or co-authored six military non-fiction books about heroes of America’s post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Those titles include Three Wise Men; Tom’s widely praised 2021 collaboration with combat veteran and Gold Star brother Beau Wise. Tom is a recipient of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation’s General Oliver P. Smith Award for distinguished reporting. He is a graduate of Rutgers University and lives in Delray Beach, Florida.

This is author Jennifer Ballou for books

Pic Credited (Elsie Barnes)

Jennifer Ballou is a retired U.S. Army Master Sergeant and Chief of Staff for the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation. After more than two decades of military service, she has dedicated her work to helping others cultivate resilience, navigate life transitions, and reconnect with a sense of purpose and joy. She is the founder of A Joyful Life with Jennifer, where she integrates coaching, yoga therapy, and lived experience to support individuals seeking greater clarity, strength, and well-being. Jennifer holds a Master of Science in Yoga Therapy and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and is a certified professional life coach and registered yoga teacher. She lives in Ohio with her husband and their family.