The Foreign Service Journal, November 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2015 41 The chapters, ordered thematically and interspersed with his written letters, showcase Goldtwait’s experiences as an ambas- sador in a country with a conflict-ridden history. He describes 25,000 miles of travel and significant events in nearly every corner of Chad. A 20-page photo insert illustrates some of his official duties and scenes from different parts of the country. Part travelogue, part analysis, the book offers perceptive reflections on the country and its people in addition to touching on U.S. foreign policy, foreign aid and contrasts between Chad and the United States. Christopher E. Goldthwait served in the Foreign Agricultural Service, with tours in Germany and Nigeria before his appoint- ment to Chad. Since late 2004, he has had his own consulting business focusing on agricultural policy and international agri- culture. He is principal author of Modernizing America’s Food and Farm Policy: Vision for a New Direction (The Chicago Cou n- cil on Global Affairs, 2006) and a novel, Salvation Is a Homecom- ing (America Start Books, 2001). Joy, Love, and Loss in Late Life: An Epistolary History of How Early Life Experiences, Long Marriages, and Divorces Shaped a Late-in-Life Relationship James Jordan, CreateSpace, 2015, $14.50/paperback; $8/Kindle, 176 pages. Jimmy Jordan and Aliza Matthews met in their late 70s, when he moved into her apartment building. Both were single and had gone through dif- ficult divorces. Joy, Love, and Loss in Late Life presents a real-life time chronicle of the pair’s relationship. Told through the printed record of more than five years of email exchanges and countless hours spent together, Jordan weaves a unique social history that covers his and Aliza’s life trajectories from childhood memories through career and family choices, all the way up to the present. He also touches on how certain Foreign Service postings can challenge even the strongest marriages. It is Jordan’s hope that this book will help anyone who has served overseas, whether in the Foreign Service or not, gain a better understanding of his or her own life paths and marriages. The book was written, in Jordan’s words, “to make a significant contribution to our understanding of how strong and meaningful social relations can develop at any stage in one’s life, including those enjoyed well into late age.” James Jordan is the nom de plume of a retired USAID FSO and writer. In deference to his own children and his late-in-life love, Aliza, James scrubbed identifying information from those mentioned in the book. Marry Me Stop Regina Landor, CreateSpace, 2015, $9.99/ paperback; $3.99/Kindle, 204 pages. Caring for an ailing parent dealing with dementia is an incredibly difficult task— now imagine moving that parent to a new country on the other side of the world while dealing with these issues. That’s exactly what Regina Landor did when her 78-year- old mother’s health declined and she experienced a series of unpleasant stints in retirement homes. In Marry Me Stop, Landor honors the life of her mother, Miriam, with a two-part biography. The first part tells of Miriam’s difficult Depression-era childhood and travels abroad, as she sailed across the ocean on her own and worked in Europe before marrying and raising three children in the United States. The sec- ond part chronicles Miriam’s slide into dementia and relocation with her family to Bangladesh—a land that honors the elderly. Landor describes the raw realities of caring for someone with mental illness, capturing the challenges and frustrations as well as the humor and gratitude that her family has felt for the oppor- tunity to be present with Miriam during this life-altering time. Regina Landor, the wife of a USAID FSO, writes a travel blog and is author of Forever Traveling Home (CreateSpace, 2013). She currently lives in Dhaka with her husband, two sons and 81-year- old mother, and is co-founder of Thrive, a volunteer organization that provides healthy lunches to poor children in Dhaka. The Long White Cloud: The Year in New Zealand That Changed Our Family Forever Kristen Faber, CreateSpace, 2015, $12.99/paperback; $4.99/Kindle, 156 pages. In 2008, Kristen Faber and her husband Chad departed the United States with their three children, 10 suitcases, five carry-on bags and one bike box to spend a year in New Zealand. The couple had always wanted to live overseas, so Chad took locum tenens—where physicians fill in for other physicians on a tem- porary basis—and the family took off on an adventure. The family’s arrival to their new home in Wairoa seemed omi-