Eastern Europe remained firmly behind the Iron Curtain, with failing economies and unfree people-and with sclerotic authoritarians gripping power as firmly as ever. The Soviet Union was still a nuclear-armed superpower and the center of gravity for much of the world.
IN THE LATE SUMMER of 1980, Russia’s experiment in Communist rule was nearing its end, although we didn’t know it at the time. It was an act of survival: a series of stress-filled journeys to escape the tyranny and oppression that defined so much of the early twentieth century in the unfree world.Īnd it was, in its final form for Mama and Papa, a leap of faith, an act of hope, a gift of love to their children-one that brought us to this country and enabled me to turn what had been a necessary activity for my parents into not just an avocation but a vocation. On occasion it gives me a chance to spend time with family members scattered across the globe.īut for my parents and their parents before them, travel wasn’t a professional privilege or a leisure pastime. Traveling provides moments to learn and to grow.
It’s an opportunity to see new places, engage with different cultures, and challenge my preconceived notions about how the world works. I suppose that means my career in the Foreign Service was encoded in my genes long before I came into the world.įor me, travel means anticipation and excitement. MAMA ALWAYS SAID that our people are travelers. Lessons from the Edge is thoroughly engaging and impossible to put down, showing us how an introverted career diplomat overcame the most vicious of smear campaigns to become a foreign service legend.
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