Opening Context
Kristin Hannah’s Home Front follows a family tested by deployment, injury, and the long road back from trauma. The novel pairs the chaos of war with the quiet devastations of domestic life, revealing how love, identity, and duty collide—and how forgiveness becomes a lifeline. Anchored by a marriage in crisis, the story traces the ripple effects of combat through friendships, parent-child bonds, and a community learning what it really means to serve.
Main Characters
Jolene Zarkades
A Black Hawk pilot and Chief Warrant Officer in the National Guard, Jolene is the novel’s emotional center—an optimist forged by a painful childhood who has built her life around discipline, service, and the belief that happiness is a choice. When she deploys to Iraq and survives a catastrophic crash, she returns home with life-altering injuries and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)), unable to inhabit the wife, mother, and soldier she was. Her marriage fractures under the weight of silence and shame, even as her love for her daughters remains fierce and constant. With the quiet steadiness of true friends and family, Jolene confronts vulnerability and learns that letting others in is its own act of courage—an arc that embodies The Impact of War on Soldiers and Families.
Michael Zarkades
A successful defense attorney and staunch critic of his wife’s military career, Michael enters the novel emotionally withdrawn, numbed by grief and disillusionment. His impulsive confession that he no longer loves his wife precedes her deployment, leaving him to shoulder single parenthood and, later, the shock of her injuries. Through a challenging case defending a young veteran, he confronts the realities of combat trauma and begins to understand the invisible wounds at home. Michael’s evolution—from self-absorbed and resentful to present, accountable, and empathetic—traces the novel’s core commitment to Marriage, Love, and Forgiveness.
Supporting Characters
Betsy Zarkades
At twelve, Betsy is caught between adolescence and upheaval, lashing out at her mother’s uniform even as she aches for stability. Her embarrassment, anger, and longing make her one of the story’s most volatile—and recognizable—portraits of a military child. Forced to grow up fast, she learns to see her parents as imperfect people and begins to rebuild trust.
Lulu Zarkades
Four years old and brimming with imagination, Lulu embodies the tender, literal questions war leaves children to carry. Her kitten-ears headband and steadfast faith in her mother offer moments of piercing innocence. She anchors the family with uncomplicated love and need, reminding everyone what is at stake.
Tami Flynn
Jolene’s best friend, confidante, and fellow pilot, Tami is the sister-in-arms who always has Jolene’s six. Honest, warm, and unshakeably loyal, she provides the camaraderie and truth-telling Jolene relies on in the field and at home. Her grievous injuries and death after the crash devastate the community and crystallize the novel’s meditation on sacrifice and grief.
Mila Zarkades
The family’s matriarch, Mila meets loss with relentless, practical love—cooking, caretaking, and showing up. She bridges generations, offering the maternal steadiness Jolene never had and the guidance Michael can finally hear. Through her, the novel quietly explores Motherhood and Identity.
Keith Keller
A young Iraq War veteran and Michael’s client, Keith is accused of killing his wife, his life shattered by untreated combat trauma. His case forces Michael to confront PTSD, systems that fail returning soldiers, and his own complicity in misunderstanding Jolene. Keith’s tragedy serves as a haunting mirror of what might be lost when pain goes unnamed.
Minor Characters
- Carl Flynn: Tami’s husband, a grounded, good-hearted mechanic who supports her service and is left to rebuild after her death.
- Seth Flynn: Tami and Carl’s son, a gentle, geeky kid whose drift from his childhood friend Betsy reflects the collateral damage of upheaval.
- Captain Ben Lomand: Jolene and Tami’s commanding officer, a compassionate leader who carries bad news with dignity.
- Owen “Smitty” Smith: The youngest, most eager member of Jolene’s crew, whose death in the crash haunts the survivors.
- Jamie Hix: A crew member injured in the crash, he shares with Jolene the heavy bond of survival.
- Conny: Jolene’s tough, insightful physical therapist who refuses to let her surrender to pain or despair.
- Dr. Christian Cornflower: A psychiatrist and Vietnam veteran whose expertise in PTSD helps Michael grasp the depth of invisible wounds.
- Theo Zarkades: Michael’s late father; his death deepens Michael’s grief and emotional withdrawal at the novel’s outset.
Character Relationships & Dynamics
At the heart of the novel is the Zarkades marriage, where love collides with unspoken resentment. Jolene’s devotion to service and her husband’s deep skepticism create a fault line that widens with deployment and becomes unbearable after her injuries. Their road back requires both to confront pride, fear, and the cost of emotional distance; the work of listening becomes as vital as the work of healing.
Jolene’s friendship with Tami functions as a second spine for the narrative: a soldier-to-soldier bond grounded in trust, humor, and mutual rescue. In the field, they are each other’s lifeline; at home, they are sisters. Tami’s death leaves a void that exposes how essential that sisterhood has been—not only to Jolene’s resilience, but to the families intertwined around them.
Within the household, the mother-daughter relationships refract the novel’s themes. Betsy’s anger and shame are the adolescent expression of fear, while Lulu’s steadfast affection supplies the emotional oxygen the family needs to endure. Mila’s presence steadies everyone, modeling a love that is patient, practical, and tireless, and offering Jolene the maternal compassion she never experienced as a child.
Beyond the family, Michael’s connection to Keith becomes a moral education. Through defending him, Michael recognizes the reality of combat trauma and the failures of institutions meant to help. That recognition reorients him toward his wife with humility and urgency, forging new alliances within the family and extending empathy to the wider community of veterans.
Finally, the broader Guard community—captained by leaders like Ben Lomand and marked by the losses of Smitty and the survival of Jamie—frames service as both chosen duty and shared burden. These bonds, whether forged in cockpits or kitchens, define the novel’s factions: the battlefield and the home front, intersecting in one family’s fight to remain whole.