The Foreign Service Journal, November 2012

40 NOVEMBER 2012 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Peregrina: Unexpected Adventures of an American Consul Ginny Carson Young, New Academia Publishing/Vellum Books, 2012, $38/ hardcover; $28/paperback, 390 pages. After the death of her FSO husband and college sweetheart, Ginny Young trans- formed her life and joined the Foreign Ser- vice herself. Defying her expectations of dull visa processing work and arriving late to a society reshaped by the sexual revolution, she finds she has entered a changed world. From being mistaken for a CIA agent on her first tour in India to witnessing a revolution in Romania, Ginny recounts her adventures in a memoir that is, in the words of Vogue ’s John Powers, “wonderfully readable and sharp as a stiletto.” The author’s positive and energetic attitude toward life comes across in her writing. Peregrina is inspiration for how to move forward in times of great loss and how to live with verve. Young spurns self-aggrandizement, opting instead to describe the humorous slips and faux pas that she considers more palatable. Her stories—from brightly asking the Maharajah of Jodhpur “What do you do here?” to nearly serving President Jimmy Carter food deemed unsterile by the White House chef—are all recounted in delightful detail and with keen insight, making for an engaging and authentic read. Ginny Carson Young served in India, Hong Kong, Mexico, Romania and Peru before retiring in 1992. Her second husband, Don Young, died of pancreatic cancer after she finished Pereg- rina . She lives in Washington, D.C. The book is a volume in the ADST Memoirs and Occasional Papers series. Djakarta Djournal: Adventures of a Diplomatic Spouse in Indonesia Clayton Bond, Amazon Digital Services, 2012, $5, Kindle Edition. Clayton Bond, who is gay, black and one half of a tandem Foreign Service couple, writes in Djakarta Djournal about his exploration of foreign countries and the challenges facing his partner and him. More than a Foreign Service autobiography, it is a coming out story, a love story and a history of civil rights movements for African- Americans and gays. The standard struggles of a Foreign Service couple have an added twist for Clayton and Ted. They experience the agony felt by many same-sex FSO couples before Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton’s decision to designate same-sex partners as eligible family members at State. Trips home to America take on extra stress when Clayton’s family hesitates to see Ted as more than a “friend.” Finally, the desire to start a family, a big decision even for straight couples within the Foreign Service, takes a heart- breaking turn when their status as foreigners, non-Muslims and a same-sex couple presents obstacles within the Indonesian adoption system. A contributor to numerous magazines, Clayton Bond was edi- tor of The Kayon , a quarterly for expatriate American women in Jakarta, and manages two blogs: Djakarta Djournal and Diplo- concierge . He is now posted in Washington, D.C., and is a mem- ber of the FSJ Editorial Board. Proceeds from the book version of Djakarta Djournal will benefit Yayasan Suwitno, a nonprofit providing free HIV testing and care for low-income Indonesians. A Long Way from Runnemede: One Woman’s Foreign Service Journey Theresa Anne Tull, New Academia Publishing/Vellum Books, 2012, $26, paperback, 330 pages. Ambassador Theresa Tull’s career started in Brussels. Then, after a year of Vietnamese language training, she was posted to Saigon just in time for the Tet Offensive of 1968. She returned to Washing- ton, D.C., in 1970 to serve on the VietnamWorking Group before heading back to Vietnam in 1973 as deputy principal officer at the consulate general in Da Nang. There she remained until the fall of South Vietnam in the spring of 1975, when she organized and oversaw the consulate’s evacuation. The details of Tull’s small-town beginnings in Runnemede, N.J., that open the book give perspective to the experiences and accomplishments of her 33-year Foreign Service career. In the prologue, she tells of relaxing with a cup of tea after writing the most significant cable of her Vietnam service, and finding this message in her fortune cookie: “You’ve come a long way, baby.” This memoir, which is a volume in the ADST Memoirs and Occasional Papers series, offers an insider’s view of historic moments in U.S. international relations. Her perspective is can- did and often critical of flawed policy. Theresa Tull also served overseas in the Philippines and Laos. In 1987 President Ronald Reagan appointed her ambassador to Guyana, and in 1993 President Bill Clinton named her ambas- sador to Brunei. She retired in 1996 and now divides her time between Sea Isle City, N.J., and Washington, D.C.