June 2025 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Book Review: Head Strong, by Christy Bailey (Honduras 2002-04)

Jun 27 2025

Robert Thurston (Venezuela, 1968-70) reviews Christy Bailey’s Head Strong. This memoir, published posthumously, is available on Amazon. Title: Head Strong: Embracing Alopecia and Becoming Pañuelo Girl Author: Christy Bailey / Editor: Susana Donato Published: April 27, 2025 (Kindle Direct Publishing) Review by Robert Thurston (RPCV Venezuela, 1968-70; PC Staff, 1972-77) When I was asked to review Head Strong: Embracing Alopecia and Becoming Pañuelo Girl by Christy Bailey, I thought there must have been a mistake, as I had agreed to review works of fiction that draw on Peace Corps experiences. Bailey’s superbly written memoir of her life-long personal struggle with alopecia and the transformational challenges she experienced as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras had me questioning how I could do justice to her powerful account. Sure, I’d managed Peace Corps programs in Honduras, but I worked with forestry and agriculture volunteers, almost all of whom were young men working in a stereotypically macho work world and society. . . .

Review: California Against the Sea, by Rosanna Xia (Mongolia 2009-11)

Jun 18 2025

Evelyn la Torre (Peru, 1964-66) reviews Rosanna Xia’s California Against the Sea. This non-fiction book is available from Heyday Books and Amazon. Title: California Against the Sea Author: Rosanna Xia Published: September 26, 2023 (Heyday Books) Review by Evelyn La Torre (Peru, 1964-66) Ocean waves are devouring California’s coastal cliffs and beaches quicker than previously predicted, with an increasing speed and force that many don’t realize. Rich and poor land- and homeowners from Imperial Beach to Marin City are adversely affected. In California Against the Sea, Rosanna Xia, an environmental reporter for the Los Angeles Times and returned Peace Corps volunteer (Mongolia, 2009-11), describes precisely where the increasingly high waves and water levels along the coast are causing damage, amounting to more than that caused by fires and earthquakes in the state. As a California resident, this book spurred me to more actively support environmental causes. The author illustrates the numerous efforts employed in the past and present to ward off . . .

Book Review: London, by Taylor Dibbert (Guatemala, 2006-08)

Jun 13 2025

Bill Preston (Thailand, 1977-80) reviews Taylor Dibbert’s London. This book of poetry is available on Amazon. Title: London Author: Taylor Dibbert Published: March 1, 2024 (Alien Buddha Press Review by Bill Preston (Thailand, 1977-80) Anyone who has lost a beloved pet can relate to the pain and emptiness that accompany such loss. The grieving process, immediate, intense, often overwhelming, continues to ebb and flow, triggered by memories, dreams, and past associations. It’s been said that though we may never completely get over a deep personal loss, we can–in time, and with support–get through it. London is poet Taylor Dibbert’s collection of linked poems addressing the death of his eponymous canine companion. It is a chronicle of grieving, a meditation on navigating loss—in his words, through heartbreak, resilience, and enduring love. Early in the collection, Dibbert’s poems confront the immediate pain. In Angel Wings, a particularly poignant flashback, he describes London’s last moments. (All excerpts presented in italics.) . . .

SALAMANDER MAN, BY JAMES A. WOLTER ‧ REVIEWED BY EPHANTUS MURIUKI

Jun 09 2025

Salamander Man by James A. Wolter is an emotionally charged coming-of-age tale about a boy whose social inclusion, acceptance, confidence, and self-worth are jeopardized by a sickness that leaves him unable to use his legs. Mohamed Idris bin Mohamed Ibrahim was born strong and healthy until the age of four, when he contracted polio, which he dubs the “evil eye.” At this point, his legs became “useless twisted stumps,” which earned him the scorn of his peers and the nickname “Salamander Man.” He would further develop a biting obsession with finding ways to outdo other boys to “feel like a king” time and again. None, however, could be sustained. At the age of six, his desire to attend Tengku Bariah Primary School was quashed by a headmaster who warned his father that the school was not for “his kind.” This not only gravely crushed his spirits, but also drove the . . .

The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue, by Mike Tidwell (Zaire 1985-87)

Jun 08 2025

Title: The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue Author: Mike Tidwell (Zaire, now Democratic Republic of Congo, 1985-87) Publisher: St. Martin’s Press; March 25, 2025 Number of pages: 288 Available on Amazon, Bookshop, Goodreads, Thriftbooks, and more Reviewer’s name: Ben East (Malawi 1996-98) Reading The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue feels like strolling the hometown with an affable neighbor, one filled with deep respect for the natural world and a pragmatic concern for its demise. Along the way we meet other neighbors, including state and national political figures; students, scientists, arborists, and public works personnel; a farmer, a midwife, the local pastor. Despite dire news regarding humanity’s relationship with nature, the company makes for an exceptional walk. On one level Mike Tidwell recounts a single year—2023—in a Washington, DC suburb whose residents cope with the local effects of global climate change. These are the tombstone stumps of new-fallen trees, the sudden gaps in rich canopy across which the . . .

Our legacy, our resilience: A reflection about the Peace Corps, by Diane Glover (Philippines 2018-20)

Jun 06 2025

There are times when people wonder about the relevancy of a tiny agency whose entire mission is based on spreading global peace and friendship. Then there are moments that remind me why the Peace Corps has endured. Moments that prove our impact is not just measured in years served, but also in lifetimes changed. Pacific country leaders inspired by Peace Corps Volunteers I think back to last year, when I walked into a meeting with Pacific heads of mission (Pacific countries ambassadors and permanent representatives to the UN) at the State Department. It was their final meeting in a long day, and yet the moment the Peace Corps was mentioned, the room came alive. They didn’t just want to talk about policy or logistics—they wanted to share their stories. They spoke of the Volunteers who taught them, mentored them, and became part of their families. Their voices carried admiration, gratitude, . . .

Before Before: A Story of Discovery and Loss in Sierra Leone by Betsy Small

Jun 01 2025

A debut author blends autobiography and ethnography in this exploration of Sierra Leone in the 1980s. The recent history of Sierra Leone is one often associated with violence, disease, and tragedy. From the decade-long Blood Diamond War of the 1990s through the Ebola outbreak of the 2010s that killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, the West African nation has been the epicenter of human rights crises for the past 30 years. In this book, Small not only encourages readers to place those tragedies within a larger post-colonial context, but also highlights a vibrant history of the nation from a grassroots perspective in the decade that predated the violence of the ’90s. A Peace Corps volunteer who was born only a year after Sierra Leone became an independent country in 1961, the author spent three years in Tokpombu, a village located 250 miles from the nation’s Atlantic coast (“Here I . . .

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