Flashbacks of a Diplomat's Wife - Softcover

Ruge, Helga

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0971567204 ISBN 13: 9780971567207

Publisher: Clay & Marshall Publishing Co., 2002

Synopsis

A personal memoir of the reflections and fascinating episodes of the wife of a United States Foreign Service Officer covering events from the late 40s through the late 60s.

About this title

About the Author

Helga Ruge was born in Wiesbaden, Germany, and studied foreign languages at the Universities of Berlin and Marburg. In 1945 she met Neil Ruge, an American officer stationed in Germany. Four years later, the couple reunited when Neil returned to Europe as a United States Foreign Service Officer. They were married in Palermo, Sicily. In addition to Palermo, Helga accompanied him to posts in Casablanca, London, Cardiff, Washington D. C., Munich, Morocco and Guatemala City. In each place, she immersed herself in local customs and culture, as well as diplomatic and social functions, all the while carrying on her family life including her children Carl and Madeleine. She has also published a novel, Whither the Promised Land.

From the Back Cover

Love conquers all, as the saying goes even anonymous enemies. When a German girl and an American officer meet during World War II, they share aspirations, and together discover new meaning to "Love Thine Enemy." When the war ends and he returns to the States, their love bridges the Atlantic Ocean for three long years and proves a lasting prelude to their fifty-year marriage.

Helga Ruge, wife of American Foreign Service Officer Neil Ruge, looks back on twenty fascinating years of life that combine tales of joy and hardship, the extraordinary and the everyday. The author highlights the episodes she remembers most: their first meeting, fateful reunion, marriage in Palermo, Italy and stormy Atlantic crossing to the New World.

Helga's vivid memory of her action-packed years as the wife of a diplomat and insatiable sightseer provides unique insight into the culture, geography, and people among whom she lived. A rich vicarious experience for those who enjoy travel, life, and love.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Different Countries, Different Customs

Germany, 1948

It was August 1948, three years after I had met the man of my dreams.

As the train I was riding in rushed through forests, fields, villages, along rivers and roads towards Frankfurt, so did my thoughts. Was fate, which brought us together for a brief four months, then separated us a huge ocean between for three long years, going to give us a second chance? Would Neil, that handsome U.S. Army Captain, now a Foreign Service Officer posted in Palermo, Sicily, really be there to greet me at the end of this journey or was it all a dream, a fantasy? Would the emotional roller coaster I had been on for so long finally come to a halt?

Edition details

• Publisher: Clay & Marshall Publishing Co.
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0971567204
• ISBN 13: 9780971567207
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 228