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. A couple of closing pictures of Kumba, my rescue Lab and therapy dog. And…
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 the adventures of my rescue Lab and therapy dog, Kumba. More photos from…
I was 12 when we moved to the United States. Up until then, I’d been a professional American, representing our country as part of my father’s Foreign Service career in Europe and Latin America. With the move stateside, I realized that the role I’d been playing overseas had little to do with fitting into junior high…
It’s never too late to help yourself live a little better through exercise. My own story is an exaggerated example of this truth. I came out of a Dutch ICU in 2019 whittled down by one-third of my weight and reduced to complete dependence on others. It’s taken me years, but in January I completed…
The community that my husband and I live in with our rescue Lab and therapy dog Kumba is home to many young families and their dogs. This is the story of one of these neighbors. It was love at first sight for the five Goldsteins—two parents, three kids—when they met golden retriever Nabi in early…
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 this month, a special story about one of Kumba's puppy neighbors. More photos…
my father's work was public diplomacy My father’s Foreign Service career with the United States Information Agency (USIA) during the Cold War was devoted to supporting the democratic values that defined America’s global relationships after World War II, including freedom (of the press, of assembly, of elections) and the rule of law. The work was the…
NOTE: This essay was published in the South Florida Sun Sentinel on December 28, 2025. On January 23, 1958, the Venezuelan people ousted a dictator and installed South America’s longest-lasting democracy, a historic feat that ended with the authoritarian governments of Hugo Chávez and his successor Nicolás Maduro. The sixty-eighth anniversary of the overthrow of…