Published Jun 24, 2026, 5:00 AM EDT
Children's book highlights an often-overlooked aspect of sacrifice and raising a family.
Marine Corps officer Juan Arce understands the challenges and joys of balancing fatherhood with service. Arce’s and potentially thousands of other single parents can be overlooked in the military community. Author Sacra Durandisse found a way to highlight Arce’s story and bring awareness to other single-parent military households in her children’s book, My Dad Is a Marine: Home Is Where the Hero Lives, released in December 2025. Like most Marines, Arce’s humble nature didn’t lead him to Durandisse. Rather, the author was captivated by his story and approached him as the genesis for the book. “I thought [that] this isn’t just my family’s story; it’s the story of so many military single-parent families,” Arce told Military.com. “My next thought was about my older daughters when they were little, and my youngest daughter now. "I liked the idea of them seeing our story through a different perspective and being able to relate to it in their own way. If it helps other children and families feel seen, understood and represented too, then that’s even better.”
Juan Arce's story was captured in a new children's book. (Sacra Durandisse)
