Customer Reviews

Madame Ambassador: The Shoemaker's Daughter

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Madame Ambassador: The Shoemaker's Daughter is Mari-Luci Jaramillo's candid memoir as the child of poor immigrants, and who, with a lifetime of experience in solving problems and fighting poverty and prejudice, earned the distinguished post of being the U.S. ambassador to Honduras. Madame Ambassador is a very highly recommended and intensely personal testimony of personal courage, compassion, and inner strength.

This is a delightful saga of a remarkable transformation from an early life of poverty and humble beginnings. Of Mexican and northern New Mexico ancestry, Mari-Luci Jaramillo dramatically demonstrates the possibilities in life with education and commitment.

While education was emphasized in her childhood, she had few models to emulate. Nevertheless, with determination and family support, she worked her way through college and then earned a Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico. Her career ranged from First Grade Teacher, English as a Second Language Specialist, Activist for Human Rights, and then Ambassador to Honduras. She also became Vice President of the University of New Mexico, Vice President of Educational Testing Service, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Latin America at the Pentagon.

This is not an in-depth political, cultural, or educational analysis of her various career experiences. Rather, Mari-Luci Jaramillo hoped to influence students, especially, whose potential is often not fully realized. With the help of parents, teachers, and other mentors, we can all succeed even with what might seem at first insurmountable odds. The life of Mari-Luci Jaramillo is an enthralling series of accomplishments and achievements.

Jim Shannon, Author-Celebrating Life: An Audacious Marriage

I also found this book through the United Methodist Women's Reading Program. It was a very interesting book to read, but the author seems to really "skim" over lots of details in her life. Jaramillo states in the beginning of the book that she was unsure how much of her personal life she should include in her life's story and it's obvious to me that she left out major chunks of both her personal and professional life. As another reviewer stated, she served as ambassador in a very tumultuous time in Central America, yet the account of her ambassadorship revolves mostly around what I thought was inconsequential things: Peace Corps people staying at the house; parties and protocol; being told to redecorate and not wanting to do it; how her "simple" upbringing endeared her to the servants at the house. I would have liked to have read more about the political climate and how she was able to accomplish what she did. Additionally, she really doesn't mention too much about how her professional life affected her kids and marriages. I understand not wanting to print your entire life's story in all its gory details, but a little more details here would have made this book a better read in my opinion.

I recently returned from an education/mission trip to Honduras and so was interested to find that this book is on the United Methodist Women's official reading list. Jaramillo was Ambassador to Honduras during a violent and tumultuous time in Central American politics (77-80). I looked forward to her insider's view, but found relatively little insight into U.S. policy and intervention in Central America during this time. One is left wondering what her actual role was. Perhaps she'll write a second book.