The Foreign Service Journal, November 2018

52 NOVEMBER 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Things I Learned from My Grandmother About Leadership and Life: How to Light a Fire under People Without Burning Them Out Charles Ray, Uhuru Press, 2018, $6.95/paperback, $0.99/Kindle, 104 pages. In these reflections on the nature of leadership author Charles Ray shares the words of his grandmother, Sally Young (1889-1972), who, as he states in the book’s dedication, “taught me just about every- thing I know about leadership and dealing with people.” She didn’t have much formal education, Ray states, but she “was the smartest person I’ve ever known because she had something that’s not very common these days: common sense.” A “lazy person’s guide to leadership,” as Ray described it, this book offers much food for thought as it takes the reader through the authors’ own personal and professional struggles, ranging from finding a work-life balance and maintaining health and career goals to discovering the differences between principle and practice. Charles Ray—a retired FSO, retired U.S. Army major and prolific writer—is the author of more than 100 books (see p. 45). Unpack: A Guide to Life as an Expat Spouse Lana Wimmer and Tanya Arler, Springtime Books, 2017, $12.60/ paperback, $5.99/Kindle, 218 pages. As an expatriate spouse, how do you choose the right home for your family, transition your kids to a new country and school, adjust to a new culture, and build a whole new network of friends? Written by two expats with more than 15 international moves between them, Unpack gives practical answers to those and many other questions. Lana Wimmer earned her B.S. in family psychology from Brigham Young University. Over the past two decades, she’s put that degree to the test, raising four children while navigating 14 moves, eight of them international. Married to a U.S. diplomat, she's experienced yearlong separations from her spouse while he served in three unaccompanied posts. Supporting families has been the hallmark of her career, as a volunteer, writer and blogger. She currently resides in Muscat and will be returning to the United States to pursue a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy. Tanya Arler was raised bicultural, Belgian/American, and is a seasoned expatriate who has orchestrated six international moves in 15 years for herself and her family. An inspirational speaker, coach and blogger, she speaks regularly at interna- tional schools on the topic “Life As an Expat: Attitude, Expecta- tion and Identity.” She currently resides in Stockholm with her husband and two children. What Are You Doing? By Leon Weintraub, illustrated by Pritali Joharapurkar, 2017, $9.99/ paperback, 22 pages. Written from the perspec- tive of a child, What Are You Doing? allows parents, grandparents and any adult interacting with children to better understand why children do the things they do. Though their actions may not make sense to us, they are trying to con- nect with and relate to the world around them. This book encourages parents and grandparents to step into children’s shoes to appreciate why children do seemingly silly things, such as knocking over a vase of cut flowers and pushing it around with a broom. What is the child’s perspective? Why do children do the things they do? Leon Weintraub is a retired Foreign Service officer. During a 29-year diplomatic career, he served in South America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Washington, D.C., before retiring in 2004. He also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Liberia and did research for his doctorate degree in Sierra Leone. He is the author of We’re All Alike and Different (2015), an introduc- tion for children to tolerance. n