Realities of Foreign Service Life, Volume 2

In this second volume of AAFSW's Realities of Foreign Life, 29 members of the U.S. diplomatic community-including employees, spouses and one articulate teen-share their knowledge, research and personal perspectives, broadening and extending the first book's candid insights into the Foreign Service lifestyle. Focusing on the "realities" faced by diplomats and their families outside the embassy or consulate walls, the authors explore topics such as schooling and housing abroad, intercultural marriage, medical evacuations, employment for accompanying partners, and the growing number of unaccompanied assignments. If you are already a member of the Foreign Service community (and especially if you have recently joined), this book will provide useful and practical information for the fascinating but often challenging journey ahead. If you (or your partner) are thinking about entering the Foreign Service, this book joins the first volume in serving as a "reality check," offering a clear view of both the positive and negative aspects of Foreign Service life, for partners and children as well as employees. If you are a student contemplating a career in diplomacy, a friend or relative of a Foreign Service member-or if you are simply curious about the lives of U.S. diplomats and their families overseas-this book will give you an insider's perspective found nowhere else.

Co-editors Melissa Brayer Hess, Patricia Linderman and Marlene Nice are longtime members of the U.S. Foreign Service community. Marlene is a Foreign Service Officer and former journalist, and Melissa and Patricia are co-editors of the first volume of Realities of Foreign Service Life and co-authors of the book The Expert Expatriate: Your Guide to Successful Relocation Abroad.