Not to the Manner Born: Reflections of a Wife and Partner in the Foreign Service

Helen Lyman writes about the more humorous incidents she witnessed as the wife of an American diplomat, including incidents with the famous-Nelson Mandela, Al and Tipper Gore, Hillary Clinton-and the not so famous. Helen Lyman began writing in 2001 about the more humorous incidents she witnessed as the wife of an American diplomat. She saw the overseas life through the prism of someone who never thought of herself as being born to the trappings of diplomatic life. Her essays recount incidents from South Korea, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Washington. They include incidents with the famous - Nelson Mandela, Al and Tipper Gore, Hillary Clinton -- and the not so famous whom she loved, like her first grade students in Nigeria. From housewife to family counselor, to teacher, to computer trainer for the State Department, she records the human touches of each of those and in the process her own development. Just as she was looking forward to a rich retirement life, illness struck. In those later years she wrote more about her early life, her family, the loss of a child, and her dreams for herself and for her country. The final work is thus not a traditional memoir. It is a rich journey. Near the end of her life, she turned to poetry and recorded her final thoughts in that way.