Customer Reviews

From and To: Friends, Loves and Peace Corps

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I very much enjoyed reading Dolores Beasley's "From and To." It's a collection of letters she wrote during her 1983-85 Peace Corps stint in Western Africa, responses she received from her relatives and friends, and entries she made in a journal she kept.

One thing I enjoyed is the sense that I am there with her. I can clearly see the villages in which she volunteered. I see that people half a world away live different lives than Americans, but I admire that the author was able to see the same strengths and weaknesses inherent in humans no matter what their upbringing. She saw love from a motherly figure in a tiny village. She saw bossiness in her job manager. She found humor in the citizens during her mouse experiences. All this richness shines through despite her different upbringing, her different language and her temporary status in their country.

The author also experiences a life of greys with her choices not being clear-cut. So much of life is that way, and it is refreshing to see someone write about her struggle with her decisions. She has a memorable, painful romance, the status of which ebbs and flows. She is torn by feeling she is doing good work and whether she is doing enough, whether she should stay, and whether she should extend her commitment.

Her correspondences with friends and relatives reveal the many levels on which a person can have a relationship. She is deeply intimate with some friends, as the letters from-and-to show. These letters disclose details of their lives that are reserved for only the closest of trusting relationships. Other friends provide a different level of intimacy. One friend keeps her in touch with America of the 1980s. Some friends and relatives provide a lifeline when she needs it, and others fail to live up to the task. The author's friendship also flows back to America to help those she can with her words and her love.

I recommend this book as two adventures: An adventure to exotic Africa, and an adventure to community.

This book demonstrates a fantastic formation of life's transitions with candor and passion. It is a 'must read' to understand how family and friendships impact our lives. The cultural diversity expressed in the book is vibrant and relevant. The vulnerability expressed by the author reveals courage and tenacity in the midst of change. I highly recommend this book to all ages.

Dr. Debra Brown