The Foreign Service Journal, November 2020

64 NOVEMBER 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL She realizes that she must figure out the secrets of the people close to her if she is to change her fate and escape the cycle of death and rebirth. The clues span two centuries. Will Ellie be able to prevent her death this time around? Or is she fated to make the same mistakes over and over again? Camille Funk is the author of this paranormal romance. Her Return series (on Wattpad) has been downloaded more than two million times online. Funk—who writes under a pseudonym—was born in Singapore, grew up in Taiwan, earned a bachelor's degree in education and English at Simmons College, and then worked as a teacher in Myanmar, Gabon and Vietnam. Together with her husband, an RSO, she raises her two children all over the world. Currently, she’s working on a romance novel, Then & Now , which will be available for purchase later this year. POTPOURRI Twenty Things to Do after You Die Philip J. Skotte, WestBow Press, 2020, $11.95/paperback, e-book available, 112 pages. What happens after we die? Do we disappear? Or do we sit on a cloud? In Twenty Things to Do after You Die , Philip Skotte takes readers on a journey of discovery. He tracks the progress of 20 pilgrims as they make the trek across the water that separates our lives from the next level, toward the kingdom of God. As they move from a land of shadows to a higher reality, the pilgrims go from brokenness to healing. Each discovers fulfillment that they can’t find here on Earth. Skotte argues in this book that our present life is mere appetizer. The real feast, with the best flavors, begins after we die. Philip Skotte, who has served as a U.S. diplomat in Europe and Asia for 27 years, is currently posted in Shanghai. Before joining the Foreign Service, he worked as a schoolteacher, ship’s carpenter and commercial fisherman. He is also the author of Why Jesus Won’t Go Away: A Diplomat Reflects on Faith (2014). He earned a master of divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary. Become Loaded for Life! Financial Independence, Retiring Early, Maximizing Happiness Nate Carter, independently published, 2019, $10.99/paperback, e-book available, 260 pages. Author Nate Carter brings his exten- sive business experience to bear in this book that teaches people how to gain financial independence and retire early. Carter argues that the traditional plan to study hard and get a good job will rarely make people wealthy. This path often leads to people living paycheck to paycheck, with massive student loan debt, low saving rates and potential job layoffs. “The rules have changed, and you need a better plan combined with the right mindset to become loaded for life,” he says. Among the topics covered in Become Loaded for Life are: how Carter turned $1,500 and a $24,000 annual salary into financial freedom; how to write a plan to create lasting wealth and financial independence; how to cut expenses, increase savings and live below your means; how to create a durable exit strategy from your day job to retire early; and how to overcome rising health-care costs, higher taxes and cuts in public retirement benefits. Nate Carter, a former Foreign Service officer and Peace Corps volunteer, has started small businesses, co-founded a real estate company and invested in early stage startups and crowdfunded ventures. He can be found at loadedforlife.com. Project Management Praxis Kenneth F. Smith, independently published, 2018, $65/paperback, 358 pages. Written by a USAID alum, Project Management Praxis is a compila- tion of best practices for planning, managing, monitoring and evaluat- ing programs and projects. In it, the author focuses on classical project management tools and techniques from the early 20th century, as well as tools from the modern era. The book’s 10 chapters cover early project management tools such as the “critical path method” and “work breakdown