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"Letters Home", JFK Inaugural Address, John F. Kennedy, Kailahun, Peace Corps, Politcs & Prose Bookstore, Self Published Book, Sierra Leone, West Africa
When I was 22, I joined the Peace Corps and taught at an upcountry secondary school in Sierra Leone, West Africa.
Prior to serving in the Peace Corps, I had spent a summer during college in Tanganyika and a second summer living with two different families in India.
Then, upon graduating college in 1965 and inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural challenge – “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country” – I embarked on two years that profoundly affected me and my future.
I wrote home frequently, and unbeknownst to me, my mother saved the 91 letters I wrote during those two years.
It is one thing for me to think back on those times – 56 years ago – and another to be able to read what I was actually doing, thinking, and learning at the time.
Recently I had those letters typed, added a few pictures, and, through our wonderful Politics & Prose Bookstore, self published as Letters Home. They have not been changed in any substantive way, other than a few very minor edits.
If you have interest in reading Letters Home, let me know. I’d be delighted to send you a copy.
Robin Rice said:
I would so enjoy reading your letters.
Robin
Larry Longenecker said:
R,
I would be interested in reading your letters.
Thank you very much.
L
Land Wayland said:
I would very much enjoy reading your views and stories. Please add me to the list.
Land Wayland
Carol Board said:
I would be interested in reading LETTERS HOME.
CAROLBOARD@AOL.COM
Charlie & Melanie said:
Melanie and I would love to read your Letters Home.
We are in Nova Scotia, as of August 20th, for three months and thoroughly enjoying being ‘home.’ You can read about our comings and goings in several posts we’ve made in the last couple of years – see https://travelsbycaml.blogspot.com/
Charlie & Melanie
Sheila Krumholz said:
How wise of your mom. I’d love to read your book. Let me know if I should swing by to pick up — I’d love to say hello, too.
Ruth Quinet said:
I’d also like to read the letters to your mother.
Ruth
william Plitt said:
Yes, I would like a copy of your “Letters Home”, having lived through that period in the same time, though a different space. My wife served with you during that same period, so your thoughts are of mutual interest. with gratitude. b.
Bina Shah said:
I would love to have a copy of your “ Letters Home. “
Bina
Elizabeth Goodman said:
Count me in on haveing a copy, too. My parents eaved my letters from when I was a junior in Paris, and they were both delightful and scary to read — how much I learned then, how much I hid from my parents, how different my memories are from the “reality” I experienced.
Carrie Trauth said:
I would very much like to read your letters
Larry Makinson said:
Wow! This is an offer I cannot refuse. Please send. You may need a second printing..
Ellen Davis said:
I would love to read this!
Ellen
Marie Lerner-Sexton said:
It sounds fascinating, especially given the years it happened.
Penn said:
I’d love to see them – yes, please send!
Tim Malieckal said:
Would love to read it!
Congratulations Rick
Judy and Mike White said:
My mother saved all our letters from Ethiopia for the same two years, copied those flimsy blue air letters onto heavier paper and put them in a 3-ring binder, which we still have. What a treasure to have first-hand memories of those years. We would be honored to get a copy of your book. Many thanks.
Jack Wilson said:
Since I was APCD in Bo 1966-68 I would love to see what you wrote. My wife Angene and I still have a set of letters we wrote home weekly to family. Fun to look back.
Samuel Clover jr said:
Good morning Mr Rick, I would definitely be interested in your Mr Sam thanks my address 8121. Powhatan street new carrollton, Maryland 20784
Liz Frost said:
I would like to read the ” Letters Home”. My Peace Corps experiences in Liberia were spent sending tape recordings of my experiences. The tapes are long gone. The memories, I still have. Just recently my short story was expected by the Friends of Liberia for publication in their anthology for the upcoming reunion in Washington, DC 2022.
Scott Jeremy Stadum said:
I would love to borrow a copy of your book.
Clare Bolek said:
Rick, I would love a copy of your book. I recently went through the letters I have received over the years. As I read the responses to the letters I wrote to family and friends, I wondered what I had written that made them want to respond. It is a special gift to have them and share them with all of us.
Nancy Johnson said:
Richard, How did I miss all of this?? Guess that by that time, Janet & I had lives, marriages, & babies keeping us very busy, so we weren’t in touch as much as we had been in elementary, junior high, & high school. I would love to have a copy of “Letters Home.” It would mean a great deal to me!!
Ping Wayland said:
I would love to read your letters when you send Land his copy.
Lanie Vernet said:
Yes, I would love a copy of “Letters from Home”
Glenna Kay Plitt said:
Rick – I will read Bill’s copy, but I am very interested in how you saw your life in Sierra Leone vs. what I experienced back then. I am grateful for your gift to your students while serving there.