Diana (Lindsey) Mankin Phelps (1954 - ) was born in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma to a coal miners daughter and an oil field roughneck, grew up in Fresno, California, and returned to McAlester, Oklahoma during her high school years. She was emplyed by Walmart Stores, Inc. for nineteen years. Diana held a variety of positions in the Walmart home office, located in Bentonville, Arkansas, including researching and writing real-estate manuals, special projects, and was responsible for the layout and inventory replenishment of new and remodeled stores for the shoe division. She was the first associate assigned to the Sam's Club division when this new venture started. Diana retired as the Director of Systems Developement and Training for their merchandising division, where she was responsible for the training of all management and hourly associates, in 1993.
On May 11, 2005 the youngest of her three children, Marine Cpl. Aaron P. Mankin, was severely injured while serving in Iraq as a combat correspondesnt. He was quickly moved to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, where she remained by his side for nearly nine months.
This began another war, one of recovery, which for her and many others, would take years of surgeries and a lifetime of challenges from the unseen wounds of war. As the months turned into years of recovery for Aaron, Diana continued to travel and care for him during the nearly seventy surgeries and numerouse speaking engagements.
Diana watched as other wounded warriors were filling the hospital beds. She began reaching out to those family members who were new to the medical dramas that they were encountering. With this new purpose came a desire to educate the people of this country, on the struggles that are a part of the caregiving community. And now Diana is reaching out, through her books, The Other Side of War & A Mother's Side of War, and speaking engagements, to those who need to see the journey always has a purpose, even when you can't see through the fog of the moment.
Diana is currently a volunteer with the Elizabeth Dole Foundation - Caring for Military Families.
