The Foreign Service Journal, November 2018

62 NOVEMBER 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL and around the Pacific, then joined her husband for Foreign Service and World Bank tours in Europe and Asia. A New Generation Remembers As the years went by, younger members joined the group: Alice Slattery, who shared a life with her husband in the Peace Corps and State Department, wrote two novels and many short stories; Wendy Montanari, Sally’s daughter, who wrote of her Peace Corps experiences; and Gail Shisler, whose memoir of her grandfather, For Country and Corps: The Life of General Oliver P. Smith , was published by the Naval Institute Press in 2009 and is still available in hardcover, paperback and even a Kindle edition. Gail, one of the “next generation” of writers in the group, remembers her first meeting. “They were so kind, so intelligent, and—from the very first—very special. I really do miss them all. Those meetings were always the highlight of my month.” Mem- bers took turns hosting meetings, where they sat around the table and drank coffee or tea while munching on muffins, fruit, cheese and, when hosted by Maria Bauer, fabulous deviled eggs. “To stop the initial chatter, the hostess would interrupt loudly, ‘Does anyone have anything to read?’” remembers Wendy Montanari. Someone would then wave some sheets of paper and begin reading. “I would close my eyes and be transported right into a different world and stay there until the author finished.” I joined the group in 1995. Home from overseas with four young children, I found time to write in the pre-dawn hours while the house was still quiet. Knowing I had an upcoming meeting inspired me to finish several essays a month, and I treasured Knowing I had an upcoming meeting inspired me to finish several essays a month, and I treasured every session with these wise women.