The Foreign Service Journal, April 2016

64 APRIL 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL An Essential Resource for FS Families Raising Kids in the Foreign Service Leah Moorefield Evans, editor; AAFSW Press, 2015; $12.99/paperback, $8.99/ Kindle; 308 pages. Reviewed By Debra Blome There’s a lot of accumulated wisdom out there in the Foreign Service community. And the Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide Press has once again gathered it up and packaged it into what should become an essential resource for any FS family. Founded in 1960 as the Association of American Foreign Service Women, AAFSW is the oldest nongovernmental organization supporting the U.S. dip- lomatic community. The all-volunteer organization serves as a support network for family members of Foreign Service employees of all foreign affairs agencies. Among other achievements, its advocacy helped lead to the creation of the State Department’s Family Liaison Office, the Foreign Service Institute’s Overseas Brief- ing Center and the Foreign Service Youth Foundation. Raising Kids in the Foreign Service , edited by Leah Moorefield Evans, is the latest release from the AAFSW Press. Its previous publications include Realities of Foreign Service Life, Vol. 1 (2002) and Vol. 2 (2007); and Moving Your Household Without Losing Your Mind (2013). This collection of 32 essays covers the full spectrum of issues any Foreign Service family is likely to encounter overseas. As Evans—herself an author, AAFSW volun- teer and self-described “family transition special- ist”—explains in her foreword, this book is a compilation of the collective wisdom of veteran Foreign Service family members. The essayists are the helpful neigh- bors everyone wishes they had, ready to dispense advice and soothe fears. Evans invites readers to “grab a hot cup of tea, curl up on your Drexel couch and settle in for a good read.” Beginning with pregnancy abroad, the essays cover a whole lifespan of issues: adoption, schooling (American, British or French? Homeschool or boarding school? AP or IB? Special needs? Gifted and tal- ented?), college admission, alcohol, safety and security, tandem parenting, single parenting and parenting through unac- companied tours. There are also several chapters covering more general lifestyle issues all Foreign Service members face (e.g., tam- ing clutter, mindfulness and maintaining connections back home). Admittedly, it’s unlikely any one reader will need advice on all of these topics at the same time. So in that respect, Raising Kids in the Foreign Service may not be the kind of book to settle down with for a good read. But it is an essential resource to keep on hand for when the need arises. Some essays are expertly written, engaging in ways that only someone who has been there and done that can be. You may feel like you’re slogging through oth- ers—but make the effort! While the writing The essayists are the helpful neighbors everyone wishes they had, ready to dispense advice and soothe fears.