The Weight We Carry
The Echoes of Family and a Life in Uniform
Growing up, I became the one who tried to hold everything together.
Get the Prologue + Chapters 1 & 2, along with occasional updates as publication approaches.
My mother was a key witness in the murder of her sister, Sylvia Likens, a case that shaped her life long after the headlines faded. My father came home from Vietnam carrying things he rarely talked about. Both had been through more than I understood, and both were still figuring out adulthood while raising a family. Somewhere along the way, I started believing it was my job to be there when my family needed me. By eighteen, I thought leaving home and joining the Air Force meant abandoning the people I loved. The Weight We Carry is about family, responsibility, service, and how the past can follow us into the life we build.
** PREVIEW COVER ONLY **
Final book cover coming soon
What Readers of the Free Preview Are Saying
“Attention-getting and well written story. Can’t wait to keep reading. I see little Bobby and Tammy.”
“Powerful. I love the tapestry and the story that is going to change so many lives.”
“The preview is fantastic! Look forward to reading the rest...”
About the Book
The Weight We Carry started as something I wanted to write for my kids. I wanted them to know where I came from, understand the people who came before them, and maybe understand me a little better too.
As I started writing, memories came back that I had not thought about in years. I pulled out old letters and photographs, revisited parts of my life I had mostly left alone, and began looking at my parents and my family differently than I had when I was younger.
My thirty years in the Air Force took me far from where I started, gave me opportunities I never imagined, and put me in positions where people depended on me in very different ways.
At some point, the book became more than something I wanted to leave for my kids. It became a way for me to better understand my family, the choices I made, and some of the things I had carried with me for years.
About Bobby
Bobby Ford served more than thirty years in the United States Air Force, retiring as a colonel in 2025. His career took him from law enforcement and security operations to command, policy, and senior leadership roles, including five years at the Pentagon, with assignments across the United States and overseas.
Today, Bobby teaches criminal justice as an adjunct professor, facilitates leadership development, and mentors others through Ryf Leadership. The Weight We Carry is a book shaped by family, a life in uniform, and the people who mattered along the way.
Who This Book Is For
The Weight We Carry is for readers who know what it means to grow up carrying more than they should have, to come from a complicated family, or to recognize the echoes of the past in the life they are living now.
It is also for veterans and military families, for people who became the dependable one early, and for anyone who has found belonging in the people they chose along the way.
If you have ever wondered how much of what you carry is truly yours, you may recognize yourself in these pages.
Tell Me What You Thought
Finished the preview? I’d love to hear what you thought.
If something stayed with you, surprised you, or made you want to keep reading, leave me a note below.