The first issue of a monthly look behind the stories in Embassy Kid: An American Foreign Service Family Memoir, the view from my writing desk as I share the book, and a preview of what I’m working on. What I’m reading and what I’m watching. And a new video of Kumba, our rescue Lab and therapy dog!

The launch events

Embassy Kid was launched with a lovely gathering in our community clubhouse in May, where we enjoyed Chai tea and carrot cake while I sold and signed over 30 copies of the book. It was a joy to be surrounded by Mermaids (my workout posse), Squirrels (my writing posse), the Tuesday Night crew and other friends, neighbors and professional colleagues.

In June, my sponsor, the Association of Diplomatic Studies and Training, hosted a virtual book launch for Embassy Kid, during which I spoke about what it was like to grow up in the Foreign Service. Have a look!

I’m taking this show on the road. I’ll be at the Delray Beach Public Library on October 26, 1-4, for the READ IT WRITE IT Book Festival.

Contact me at realembassykid@gmail.com or at 561-942-4915 to arrange an author talk and book signing in your South Florida community!

Embassy Kid: The photo collection

Embassy Kid readers have asked for photos from the time period covered in the book. To kick things off in this first newsletter, here are pics from 1955, when we first landed in Caracas, Venezuela and I was a much-loved only child, doted on by my parents (that news clip is from the article announcing our arrival on July 3) and our devoted live-in maid Josefina. The middle picture was our Christmas card, with my father and mother playing the guitar and the cuatro and me on maracas.

Next newsletter: I get a baby sister on New Years Eve!

Where Embassy Kid has popped up

Some of my favorite Embassy Kid feedback are photographs of readers with the book in their hand: here’s my good friend Maria Consuelo near Mt. Rainier, my lifelong bestie Betsy in her cozy house in New Hampshire (I’m pretty sure the dog is also reading), and my Aunt Snooky in Minneapolis!

Do you have a picture you’d like me to share? Send it in your comments!

What readers are saying

It’s lovely to discover that Embassy Kid speaks to so many readers, from military families to those who knew just one place as home.

Here are excerpts from a few of the 24 five-star Amazon reviews:

A Heartfelt Look at Life in the Foreign Service: This memoir is a great tribute to the quiet sacrifices made by diplomats and their families—people who give up a lot to represent the U.S. far from home. It’s an easy read but also informative, and I walked away with a new appreciation for the work they do. Definitely worth reading!

Honest reviews are so valued, from one-word reactions to a couple of paragraphs of copy. If you purchased the book on Amazon, won’t you please add your own review? And if you purchased your book at a book-signing, won’t you please stop by Goodreads to add your input? Thanks!

Now and then we find a book that fills a hole. Embassy Kid did that for me. An unrequited teenage desire to work in the foreign service left me with a feeling that I had missed something very important. The book tells me I probably did, but it also gave me a satisfying taste of what it would have been like.

And Military Families Magazine gave me a glowing review thanks to the brilliant and insightful writer Kate Lewis @katehasthoughts.

In the pipeline: Third Culture Kid podcasts!

As a TCK and someone who has grown up and lived in several different countries, so many of the stories the author narrates resonate with me.

Gaia, who wrote this lovely review, is one of the hosts of the podcast Quiero un Panino con Cheese, a lively audio dialogue about cross cultural family life. I’m thrilled to have connected with this Madrid-based podcast, and even more delighted to be in the pipeline as a guest! If you grew up across boundaries or have any curiosity about the experience, check Gaia and Hazel out.

Another fascinating audio series that I will be a guest on is The Round Trip Stories Podcast, conversations about how we transition back to “home” when we’ve been away. I remember so clearly thinking that I was a professional American overseas but feeling like a foreigner in my own country when we moved to the States when I was entering seventh grade. These stories and more will be part of The Round Trip Stories Podcast in 2026!

What I’m reading and watching

I’ve got two nonfiction books going at the same time on my bedside table: David Grann’s The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder and Bonnie Tsui’s On Muscle: The Stuff That Moves Us and Why It Matters.

Grann’s book is awesome in the degree of research he did to recount this epic, grim tale such that we are right there with the poor souls as they are cast about by unforgiving nature and the darkest of human instincts. Gripping.

Tsui, whose book Why We Swim captivated me, has given me in On Muscle a primer in the functioning of the body. It’s part of laying the research foundation for telling my complicated, unlikely, and completely true story of surviving a body-rending illness in 2019, and the even more unexpected full, albeit long, recovery. It will be the subject of my third book, Amsterdam Strong: Love, Compassion, and a Whole Lotta Luck.

I also want to give a shout-out to TCK Cynthia Green’s Blue Feet Monsoon, a coming-of-age novel that takes place in Malaysia and Europe and considers identity, belonging, and culture. The protagonist’s arrival “back home” echo my own feelings of surprise at being lost in America, the country that I represented but didn’t really know at all.

My husband and I recently binge-watched HBO’s The Gilded Age. It appealed to us both so much that we’re diving back into Julian Fellowes’ first hit series, Downton Abbey, before we watch the film that’s just come out. Fellowes’ interview on PBS Weekend was a delight.

Work-in-progress, “A Family for Kumba”

The story of the transformation of our black Labrador retriever, Kumba, from traumatized rescue to Zen therapy dog is my current work-in-progress. It’s inspired by our life with this very special dog, especially our credentialing as a dog therapy team with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs.

We’ve just celebrated our first anniversary of weekly visits at Elegance at Lake Worth, a nearby assisted living and memory care facility. We were welcomed with open arms by the empathetic staff and the kind residents alike, and we now feel very connected to these lovely people! In fact, they’ve become family, part of A Family for Kumba.

Thank You for Reading!

Thank you for spending these minutes in my company. I’ll have more family photos and Kumba videos in next month’s newsletter, along with updates on the rollout of Embassy Kid.

I’d love to hear from you.