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2013

Glimpses through the Forest: Memories of Gabon

by Jason Gray (Gabon 2002–04)
A Peace Corps Writers Book
$14.95 (paperback)
288 pages
May 2013

SITUATED IN CENTRAL AFRICA, the nation of Gabon is a vibrant and mysterious place full of rich history, diverse culture, and stunning biodiversity. In the midst of the African rainforest, a Peace Corps volunteer from Montana is thrust into a new life of adventure and discovery. From close encounters with forest elephants to classroom teaching challenges, this vivid retelling of one man’s experiences takes readers on an extraordinary journey through daily life, cultural events, and ongoing conservation efforts, and shares his love affair with a country that will forever own a piece of his heart. This new book by Jason Gray leaves us with a powerful impression of having shared in his experiences. Gray’s underlying reverence for Gabon and its people comes out strongly in this recounting of his three years of work there with the Peace Corps and World Wildlife Fund International, and shows the importance of understanding other cultures while enhancing individual awareness of the global community. Glimpses through the Forest: Memories of Gabon is an engaging read for eco and cultural travel enthusiasts, conservationists, nature lovers, and other adventure seekers.

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Connecting Two Worlds: An Environmental Journey From Peace Corps To Present

by Anthony Simeone (Upper Volta 1971–73)
A Peace Corps Writers Book
$19.95 (paperback)
146 pages
March 2013

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Africa On My Mind: Educating Americans for Fifty Years, Living Peace Corps’ Third Goal

by Angene Wilson (Liberia 1962–64)
A Peace Corps Writers Book
$10.00 (paperback)
210 pages
February 2013

PEACE CORPS EXPERIENCE AS A TEACHER in Liberia from 1962 to 1964, hooked Angene Wilson on Africa. Her engaging new book is an anthology/memoir that includes different kinds of writing about Africa over a fifty-year span. Africa on My Mind focuses on both what Angene Wilson learned from teaching in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Ghana, taking teachers to Nigeria and traveling to other parts of Africa such as Malawi and South Africa, and how she used what she learned to teach Americans about Africa.

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2012

In the Valley of Atibon

by Leita Kaldi (Senegal 1993–96)
A Peace Corps Writers Book
$20.00 (paperback)
272 pages
November 2012

IN THIS MEMOIR, Leita chronicles her experiences as a middle-aged white woman who goes to Haiti filled with good intentions to manage Hôpital Albert Schweitzer and its community development program. What unfolds for her, however, is a hell filled with young revolutionaires and vagabons who threaten her life, and the very existence of the hospital and the program. Prompted by these experiences she delves into the mysteries of Voudou, and learns first hand about the undercurrent of terror that drives rural Haitians.

In contrast with numerous shocking incidents that occurred during her five years in Haiti, Kaldi also tells of tender adventures of her daily life, and of being inspired and comforted by many of the Haitians with whom she works — the doctors, nurses, agronomists, her housemaid, and others who teach her surprising lessons in dignity, faith and forgiveness.

Entwined with her story, Leita narrates the uplifting story of Dr. Larimer Mellon, and his wife, Gwen Grant Mellon, who founded the hospital in 1956 and spent their lives serving people in the Valley. Theirs too was an experience fraught with problems that demanded their courage, resourcefulness and dedication to the Haitian people.

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Never Gonna Cease My Wanderin’: Letters Between Friends

by Ruth Kesselring Royal (Philippines 1961–63) and Beryl Brinkman (Afghanistan 1967–69)
A Peace Corps Writers Book
$15.00 (paperback)
280 pages
September 2012

IN THE LATE 1950s, two young women at a small Midwestern college forge a friendship which will extend a lifetime and is at the core of their letter exchanges as they travel the world. Together the pair march into the ’60s, picking their way around the land mines of that liberating era. They explore their hearts, and souls, as they join the Peace Corps, writing to compare experiences, raise new questions. Never Gonna Cease My Wanderin’ is a collection of Ruth and Beryl’s letters. It pulls the reader into their worlds as Volunteers in the Philippines and Afghanistan and then their lives beyond. How will these two friends, bonded by dreams of internationalism, equal rights and a personal haven, find their way?

Read Douglas Foley’s review of Never Gonna Cease My Wanderin’

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The Measure of a Dream: A Peace Corps Story

by Lora Parisien Begin (Tunisia 1988–90)
A Peace Corps Writers Book
$16.96 (paperback)
356 pages
July 2012

WEST MEETS MIDDLE EAST in this engaging story of a young American woman who follows her dream of joining the Peace Corps and is sent to live and work in a Muslim country for two years. Her Peace Corps “dream” never included random marriage proposals, or World Heritage Sites caving in on her, or run-ins with the CIA, or war. This culture shockingly fascinating story will take readers on a very personal journey to a land and a people few Americans know.

Read Kitty Thuermer’s review of The Measure of a Dream
Read John Coyne’s interview with Lora Parisien Begin
Read John Coyne’s article about promoting self-published books that talks about The Measure of a Dream

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Somalia: Short Fiction

by Martin R. Ganzglass
A Peace Corps Writers Book
$7.99 (paperback); $2.99 (Kindle)
356 pages
July 2012

THIS COLLECTION OF STORIES draws on a deep well of experience to give us seven vignettes that play out on the Horn of Africa after colonialism. From the early optimism following independence, to the rise of Siad Barre and the collapse of his brutal dictatorship, Somalia is a detailed portrayal of the conflicted motivations and incorruptible friendships born of a beautiful and troubled country.

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Dodging Machetes: How I Survived Forbidden Love, Bad Behavior, and the Peace Corps in Fiji

by Will Lutwick (Fiji 1968–70)
A Peace Corps Writers Book
$15.95 (paperback); $7.99 (Kindle)
266 pages
May 2012

WILL LUTWICK, A QUIRKY MISFIT, gets an MBA at twenty-two, but soon realizes he and the American corporate world are a horrid mismatch. He joins the Peace Corps and is sent to the Fiji Islands, the quintessential tropical paradise. Will finds himself attracted to prohibited pulchritude when Rani Gupta, a beautiful, rebellious twenty-year-old from a traditional Hindu family, begins working in his office. Dating is taboo in Fiji’s large Indian community, and an interracial couple would be unprecedented. But Rani and Will soon discover their mutual attraction impossible to resist. Their liaison is clandestine, but word gets out, and a cultural firestorm engulfs Rani’s community. The two lovers are under constant threat of attack, and violence ensues. Will must confront his personal demons about courage and commitment, while Rani is treated like a pariah by her people. Will the besieged lovers stay together, or will a hostile world tear them apart?

Read Larry Lihosit’s review of Dodging Machetes

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Through the Eyes of My Children: The Adventures of a Peace Corps Volunteer Family

by Frances L. Stone (Philippines 1971–73)
A Peace Corps Writers Book
172 pages
$12.99 (paperback)
February 2012

THIS BOOK IS AN EASY, FUN READ for preteens through adults who are interested in Peace Corps and what it is like to be a Volunteer. It is different because it is the first book to be written for young people about Peace Corps and it is the first to be written about a Peace Corps Volunteer family — a small part of Peace Corps Volunteer history that few are aware of. It is also the first to be written from the children’s point of view. It is an easy read because it has been written in the voices of the children at the ages they were as Volunteers. Even the 3-year old has memories to share. So don’t let the simple language keep you from giving it a try. Learning about Peace Corps through these children may inspire a young person to consider being a Peace Corps Volunteer as a way of serving his/her country.

Read Barbara Joe’s review of Through the Eyes of My Children

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2011

Eritrea Remembered: Recollections & Photos by Peace Corps Volunteers

Edited by Marian Haley Beil (Ethiopia 1962–64)
A Peace Corps Writers Book
$10.00 (paperback); $2.99 (Kindle)
184 pages
December 2011

EIGHTEEN PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS who served in Eritrea share their fond experiences in this Horn of Africa country: Marianne Arieux, Mike Bannister, Leo Cecchini, Tom Cutler, Harold Freeman, Walt Galloway, Tom Gallagher, Cathie Hulder, Paul Huntsberger, Wayne Kessler, Cynthia Tse Kimberlin, Neil Kottler, Kurt Peterson, Joann Feldman Richards, Mary Gratiot Schultz, Lois Shoemaker, Judy Smith and Kate Yocum.

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No Senator’s Son

by RJ Huddy
A Peace Corps Writers Book
$17.50 (paperback); $2.99 (Kindle)
380 pages
October 2011

POLITICO COLE GIBSION SAYS of Congressman Hatling: “Yes, well . . . I’ve heard of him.” There could hardly be a more obscure member of Congress than the representative from Kentucky’s Fifth District. When his name arises as a potential presidential candidate, no one is more surprised — or horrified — than Hatling himself, for Hatling lives a secret life. With the reappearance of his old college sweetheart, a French-Palestinian woman in Beirut, he has even more to hide. And if his ideas regarding the State of Israel become known, the result will not be a simple election defeat. It will be a battle for peace or war, for life or death. No Senator’s Son is a story of families under strain, of failures and redemption in love, of our passage through history, and the passage of history through us.

“I’ve heard of him,” Cole Gibson says. He’s about to hear a lot more.

Read Larry Lihosit’s review of No Senator’s Son

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One for the Road

by David J. Mather (Chile 1968–70)
A Peace Corps Writers Book
$14.95
412 pages
September 2011
OnefortheRoad-Mather.com

TOM YOUNG WANTS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE in the world.  He joins the Peace Corps and is sent to an impoverished farm community in remote southern Chile where a reforestation project is the campesinos’  only hope for a better future.

Tom finds himself in a breathtakingly beautiful land from a bygone era.  Horses and oxen provide transportation, light is from kerosene lamps, and water is fetched with buckets from springs.  He is drawn to the closeness of Chilean family life, and desperately wants to fit in as he struggles with the language and customs.  Fighting depression and loneliness, he slowly adapts, but is shocked when brutal acts of violence rock the community.

Tom’s bonds are truly forged with this forgotten world when he embarks on the seemingly impossible task of building a new road into the campo.  What he doesn’t anticipate is the relationship that develops with a beautiful young woman, a relationship that will provide the key to Tom’s heartwarming — and heartbreaking — acceptance into the community.

Read Reilly Ridgell’s  review of One for the Road
Read about One for the Road in the Vermont Valley News

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Running in Flip-flops

by Abigail Fay (Senegal 2007–09)
A Peace Corps Writers Book
$12.75
306 pages
September 2011

FRESH OUT OF COLLEGE, Shannon Wheaton signs up for two years in the Peace Corps and gets exactly what she expects: a mud hut, a boisterous host family, no running water or electricity, and endless days of shelling peanuts. What she didn’t expect was to clash so intensely with Wolof culture. In her rural village in Senegal, West Africa, Shannon is challenged in ways she never could have imagined. She finds herself riding an emotional roller coaster. Moments of wonder and of frustration, tiny successes and multiple failures, American friends and village neighbors, all shape Shannon’s new world - and her with it. Her story is an earnest chronicle of Peace Corps service, with the enduring question familiar to all volunteers: What does it mean to make a difference?

Read Leita Kaldi’s review of Running in Flip-Flops

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Adventures in Gabon: Peace Corps Stories from the African Rainforest

edited by Darcy Munson Meijer (Gabon 1982–1984)
A Peace Corps Writers Book
$15.95
232 pages
September 2011

“ADVENTURES IN GABON IS A MUST READ for every returned — or prospective — Peace Corps Volunteer. It manages
to cover all the important facets of life in the Peace Corps: the camaraderie and isolation, the laughter and loneliness, the rewards and frustrations, and above all the sense of being hyper-alive.”
— RJ Huddy (author of Verse of the Sword and Learn Thai with Me)

Read John Coyne’s interview with Darcy Munson Meijer
Read Larry Lihosit’s review of Adventures in Gabon

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The Orange Tree

by Martin R. Ganzglass (Somalia 1966–68)
A Peace Corps Writers Book
$14.95
424 pages
May 2011

A STORY OF THE UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP between an elderly Jewish lady and the young Somali nurse who cares for her. Helen and Amina develop a special bond as they confront their troubled pasts and the realities of life in a divided post 9-11 world. A touching meditation on displacement and cultural difference, The Orange Tree paints an insightful portrait of two friends and the shared humanity that binds them together.

Read John Coyne’s interview with Marty Ganzglass

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The Gambling Master of Shanghai and Other Tales of Suspense

by Joan Richter (staff spouse Kenya 1965–67)
A Peace Corps Writers Book
$15.00
256 pages
March 2011

THE GAMBLING MASTER OF SHANGHAI and Other Tales of Suspense is a collection of seventeen stories that will take the reader on a suspenseful journey to places near and far — to Shanghai and Prague, Africa, Cambodia, and the United States.

Read Tony D’Souza’s review of The Gambling Master
Read John Coyne’s interview with Joan Richter

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The Caddie Who Won The Masters

by John Coyne (Ethiopia 1962–64)
A Peace Corps Writers Book
$13.50
316 pages
March 2011
JohnCoyneBooks.com

BOBBY JONES ALWAYS HOPED that someday an amateur would win the Masters. In this novel, bestselling author John Coyne—The Caddie Who Knew Ben Hogan and The Caddie Who Played With Hickory—tells the story of Tim Alexander, an amateur from the public links courses in Southern Illinois, who qualifies for the Masters and has a chance to fulfill Jones’ dream. In The Caddie Who Won The Masters, Coyne blends his skill at the supernatural (he’s a bestselling author of novels of the occult) with his vast knowledge of golf and its history.

Read Roland Merullo’s review of The Caddie Who Won The Masters
Read Karen Croke’s Here are 10 thing you might not know about John Coyne!

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Answering Kennedy’s Call: Pioneering the Peace Corps in the Philippines

Edited by Parker W. Borg, Maureen J. Carroll, Patricia MacDermot Kasdan, Stephen W. Wells (all Philippines (1961–63)
A Peace Corps Writers Book
$25.00
498 pages
March 2011

FIFTY YEARS AFTER President Kennedy signed the 1961 Executive Order creating the Peace Corps, nearly 100 former volunteers who joined the new organization in the first year for service in the Philippines recall why they joined, what they experienced, and how this service in the Philippines affected their lives. In addition a half dozen members of the Peace Corps staff in the Philippines and a similar number of Filipinos have contributed their recollections from the period. The book includes photos of individuals from both the 1960s and more recently as well as maps showing communities of service.

Read John Coyne’s PCVs from Philipines Publish Book
Read John Coyne’s More about Pioneering the Peace Corps in the Philippines
Read Marian Haley Beil’s Talking with the Editors of Answering Kennedy’s Call
Read David Searles’ review of Answering Kennedy’s Call

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2010

How to Cook a Crocodile: A Memoir with Recipes

by Bonnie Lee Black (Gabon 1996-98)
A Peace Corps Writers Book
$15.99
448 pages
October 2010
BonnieLeeBlack.com

CASTING CAUTION TO THE WIND at the age of fifty, New York caterer and food writer Bonnie Lee Black decided to close her catering business and join the Peace Corps. Posted to the tiny town of Lastoursville in the thickly rainforested interior of Gabon, Central Africa, Bonnie taught health, nutrition, and cooking, in French, primarily to local African women and children. In the two years she served in Gabon, Bonnie developed her own healthy recipe for a purposeful life, made in equal measures of good food, safe shelter, meaningful work, and unexpected love.

Read Thurston Clark’s Peace Corps Worldwide REVIEW
Read John Coyne’s interview with Bonnie — Bonnie Black’s Brilliant Book
Read Bonnie’s blog Cooking Crocodiles and Other Musings

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