I Have Iraq in My Shoe: Misadventures of a Soldier of Fashion [Paperback]

Gretchen Berg (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 1, 2012

It's the timeless, classic tale: girl-meets-recession, recession-forces-girl-to-go-to-Iraq. I Have Iraq in My Shoe follows the author out of her comfort zone and into the Middle East. Taking the wit of Jen Lancaster and the fun of Sophie Kinsella and moving it to the desert, this is the story of a single, fashion-obsessed American female who finds herself metaphorically strapping on a Kevlar caftan to work in Iraq for a year. Irreverent and hilarious, saucy and smart, it's a tale of lessons both taught and learned, and all in the midst of a war zone: from teaching Iraqi women in headscarves while wearing designer pumps to enduring the shame and frustration of astronomical luggage fees.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Berg hilariously recounts her struggles to assimilate into a vastly different culture, one in which, as a single woman, her ability to move around without a male companion is severely limited. In the mixture of all these issues, Berg carves out a strong and caring community of students and friends while picking up a few new pairs of shoes along the way." - Booklist

About the Author

Gretchen is an award-wanting writer with a bachelor's degree in something completely unrelated to writing. She has read articles for Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Allure, The New Yorker, Newsweek, and The Economist (once when the TV wasn't working). She is a Cancer, with Scorpio rising, who was born and raised. She wishes people dressed up more.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks (May 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402265794
• ISBN-13: 978-1402265792
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,141,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gretchen Berg is an award-wanting writer with a Bachelor's degree in something completely unrelated to writing. She wishes people dressed up more, but can also appreciate some good flannel pajamas. She has not read 'War and Peace'. She started it, once, but was distracted by a 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' marathon on Bravo.

Visit her website at http://www.GretchenBergBooks.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun read and cautionary tale of baggage fees.... May 4, 2012

By Kindle Addict

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I just finish Ms Berg's, "I Have Iraq in My Shoe" and thoroughly enjoyed it, finding myself quite often laughing out loud - in public no less. This book is a fun read, at times thought provoking and written in a way where I felt I was sitting in a café with a friend sharing tales of adventure, the woes of love and ridiculous baggage fees. Oh, the baggage fees....

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars This book was not what I expected... but it was fun read July 8, 2012

By Kveta

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I came across this book when I was searching for some information about Iragi Kurdistan, where I was supposed to go with an NGO. I was totally delighted to find something like this, a western woman's impressions of this country, how did she find it, what were the people like.... so I bought it immediately. Well, I did not find there anything I was expecting. I mean, the book was really fun read (I am not a native speaker so probably I missed some of the author's jokes, but I still found it really entertaining) and I think the author has a really witty style, but... I did not find any Iraq there. This story might as well have happened anywhere else in any more conservative country. The author spent months in a foreigner's compound not mixing with locals at all, except for her students. She did not describe a thing from Erbil's architecture or history or traditions.... She was very much trying to keep her lifestyle as it was in the US (if this is possible at all in such a totally different environment). She was complaining she could not find a diet coke or that she ran out of alcohol, that the local people smelled, that someone was constantly intruding her privacy, or that she could not eat sausages....

This is a good read for holiday, but if you already know something about Middle-Eastern countries, do not expect to learn anything more.

Finally, for the author- please do not consider this criticism :) I know you did not mean your book as some sort of encyclopedia. It's only that I travelled around Arabic countries and happen to study Middle East, so I might have different perspective. Anyway, thanks for your writing :)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Could not put it down! May 7, 2012

By Joshua Crouthamel

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Start-to-finish awesome. I loved every word. Berg's first book is a fantastic read as she proves to be a hilarious heroine who I wanted to travel with along for the ride. This was one of those rare books that I didn't want to actually finish, as I looked forward to each page. I hope she's working on a second one, though the experiences of a soldier of fashion in a war-torn country will be hard to top. I loved the conversational tone, paired with clever language (seriously, you will LOL but also appreciate the grammar and structure). Thanks, Gretchen, and well done!