The Foreign Service Journal, March 2013

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2013 73 BOOKS Growing a Second Heart Three Truths and a Lie Graham Fuller, CreateSpace, 2012, paperback/$14.95, Kindle Edition/ $9.99, 274 pages. Reviewed by Stephen W. Buck This gripping book will speak to a broad audience: parents, Third-Culture Kids, cross-cultural adoptees and anyone who has ever been affected by the huge ripple effects of addiction. It delves deeply, at the most personal level, into the issues of roots, belonging and grounding that affect many Foreign Service and international families. Three Truths and a Lie is an amazing story in its own right. But what makes it truly remark- able is who wrote it: Graham Fuller, a Middle East specialist who was once vice chair of the National Intelligence Council (among many other positions), and the author of dozens of articles and books on the Muslim world. Used to a world of secrets and compartmentalization, Fuller leaves nothing hidden in this compelling account of his family’s attempts to save their adopted Korean son, Luke Byungbae Fuller, from the downward spiral of addiction. As Graham admits, for all his ability to observe, report on and analyze devel- opments and trends, he was never able to figure out the mystery that was his son or halt his downward spiral. In the process, Fuller offers insights into a Foreign Service culture that also focuses on rationality, yet sometimes offers little help to families dealing with the complexities of cross-cultural adoption and the challenges that For- eign Service children “living between worlds” often face on a daily basis. The title of the book refers to a game Luke excelled at: coming up with four statements about himself, three of which were true and one that was a lie. Much of the book is about the very vol- uble Fuller family trying to understand the much quieter Luke and to save him from his growing addiction. While the focus is on trying to rescue Luke, in the end the book is as much or more about Graham as it is about Luke. Though he is well trained in intelligence gathering and analysis, Graham comes to realize that he is less adept in “catching onto reality in things of the heart.” This is not at all surprising, given the culture of the intelli- gence world. Graham concludes that Luke’s death at 21 of a drug overdose did not leave an “empti- ness” or “hole” in his heart. Rather, he felt “as if I have grown a second heart…more open and vulner- able to the world, more sensitive to its emotional elements. That is an unex- pected blessing for someone who took routine refuge in an analytical mind.” Like the great Greek tragedies, the journey Fuller traces in this book is not an easy one. Even though we know the end of the saga from page one, Three Truths and a Lie is very hard to put down because of the story it has to tell, the excellence of the telling and, most of all, the deep honesty, humility and humanity of the author. Stephen W. Buck, a retired Senior Foreign Service officer, served at eight posts in the Arab world during his 39-year diplomatic career. He consults and lectures frequently on the Middle East, and has served on the Foreign Service Journal Editorial Board since 2003. How to Make Friends and Influence People Persuasion and Power: The Art of Strategic Communication James P. Farwell, Georgetown University Press, 2012, paperback/$29.95, Kindle Edition/$16.17, 271 pages. Reviewed by Patricia H. Kushlis As its title implies, Persuasion and Power: The Art of Strategic Communica- tion is a “how to” book for professionals in many different fields. At the same time, it will interest anyone who wants to learn more about how governments and politicians (elected and non- elected) have informed and influenced publics about their policies and candi- dates. Farwell, a veteran consultant to political campaigns and U.S. military and strategic entities, aims to explain in lay terms the thinking behind cam- paigns of influence —or, in less pejo- rative terms, how to “win hearts and minds.” In essence, Farwell suggests that there are commonalities among the Along the way, Fuller offers insights into the challenges that Foreign Service children “living between worlds” often face on a daily basis.

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