"What a lovely read. You have a wonderful touch. Such an original voice. I loved all of your allusions to different spiritual and literary texts, from Cavafy and Homer and Aesop to Thich That Hanh and Gyomay Kubose."

—Mark Chait, Principal and Executive Editor, Scribe Publishing, Harper Collins, Penguin Publishing, and Hyperion

"Raising Athena is a courageous and necessary contribution to the leadership canon. With candor, vulnerability, and wisdom, MyLinh illuminates the challenges and triumphs of women in uniform in a way that speaks to every leader, regardless of background. Drawing on her own experience at West Point and beyond, she provides both inspiration and practical guidance for those who follow. This book is not only a testament to resilience and service but also a roadmap for creating a more inclusive and effective military. I highly recommend it to anyone committed to developing the next generation of leaders."

—Matthew Louis, Award-winning and Best-Selling Author of Mission Transition and Hiring Veterans, Speaker, and U.S. Army Veteran

"Raises interesting questions and ultimately addresses them in satisfying ways. Why did the narrator leave the military? What was it like being a woman when women were only ten percent of the class? I appreciate uncertainty and nuance, vulnerability and doubt, as the narrator contends with transcendent subjects such as divinity, love, and mortality."

—Kathryn Rhett, Chair of English Department and Professor of English, Gettysburg College, MFA Iowa Writers' Workshop

"It's perilous not to have a people who understand their relationship to their warriors in a nuanced way. This book is, to my way of thinking, an excellent antidote to these problems. It is plainly the product of a woman warrior (a sheepdog, in the parlance of my favorite chapter) who has a firm grasp on the principles of storytelling and the art of creative nonfiction. That's a vanishingly rare sort of being, growing rarer all the time."

—Pinckney Benedict, American short-story writer and novelist

"Excellent. It was an absolute pleasure to read. I enjoyed it so much."

—Francesca "Ox" Ziemba, Colonel (Ret) US Army

"Raising Athena is a courageous and necessary contribution to the leadership canon. With candor, vulnerability, and wisdom, MyLinh illuminates the challenges and triumphs of women in uniform in a way that speaks to every leader, regardless of background."

—John Stark, PhD, U.S. Army (Retired) and Former Diplomat

"MyLinh has a great knack for telling stories. The book is so important on so many levels — Bravo! I love love love the book!"

—Amy Efaw Gamm, Award-winning Author of Battle Dress and After, Speaker, and U.S. Army Veteran

"For some reason, or maybe many reasons, a small number of each generation of Americans decides to serve in the military—good thing, too, since we rely entirely on volunteers. And, for many of us that do, we don't fully understand why we did. MyLinh tries to answer that question for herself and shares that effort with us. Along the way she wrestles with her own unique past and the search for meaning after leaving the Army. Then she goes an important, and nearly impossible, step further - Why did her daughter also choose to serve? The result is a well written, thought-provoking memoir and a timely voice amid the country's widening civil-military divide."

—Ted Russ, Veteran and Novelist

"Mylinh tackles a lot of complex and important ethical questions in a really tangible way. The stories were exceptionally visual and made it feel like I was there in the moment. Reading this made me feel like I was looking into what my future could be."

—Grace Brooks, J.D. Candidate at Georgetown Law and former U.S. Armor Captain

"Wow! This is 'I don't want to put it down good.' So good. So raw."

—Mike Cashman, Attorney at Law and U.S. Army Veteran

"MyLinh's book is a beautiful testament to the power of raising a daughter to stand tall in her own strength. Her words remind us that confidence isn't inherited — it's nurtured with intention, love, and courage."

—Erin Appleman, Head Volleyball Coach, Yale University, 13 Time Ivy League Champion

"So beautifully written — MyLinh has woven together her story, her daughter's story, and history in a way that makes you want to turn the page for more. Her writing style is raw, real, and unique. From one mother to another, well done!"

—Cat Dailey Minyard, Founder, Northeast Volleyball Club, Former European Professional League Player, NCAA Final Four and Ivy League MVP

"Just finished reading Raising Athena — amazing! I appreciated the stories and histories. I really enjoyed reading this and remembering my own West Point experiences, especially as a woman with a Chinese mother. MyLinh's ability to bring the stories to life and to elicit emotional feeling (I did tear up on a few occasions) is powerful!"

—Gail C. Seymour, BioPharma Executive, U.S. Army Veteran, West Point, and Harvard Business School

"MyLinh masterfully weaves the threads of the story lines, anchored by the thirty years separating her West Point graduation with her daughter Cara's West Point graduation, to create a beautiful, honest, and human tapestry. The prologue opens with her Dad's ensuring that all under his care as the US Cultural Attache in South Vietnam are safe before the fall of Saigon. And with that opening, I could not put the book down as MyLinh bravely asks difficult questions that has her explore her values, culture, relationships, family, and country. These story lines occur with the back drop of the Cold War, post-Cold War, and the GWOT, while grappling with mother-daughter relationships across generations, serving in a male-dominated Academy and Army, marrying her West Point classmate, seeing her daughter and eventually all her children graduate from the Academy, and living the Army's professional ethos as their north star. Thank you, MyLinh, for having the courage to be vulnerable and for representing our Alma Mater with such heart, truth, and care."

—Cindy R. Jebb, Ph.D., Brigadier General (Retired), U.S. Army, The first woman Dean of the Academic Board at West Point