Born in Sydney's western suburbs in the late 1950s, the young Geraldine Brooks longs to discover the vivid places where she believes history and culture are made. Penfriends from the Middle East, France and America offer her the window she craves on life beyond Australia's isolated backyard. With the aid of their letters, Brooks turns her bedroom into the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, the barricades of Parisian student protests and the swampy fields of an embattled kibbutz. Twenty years later and worlds away from her sheltered girlhood, Brooks is an award-winning foreign correspondent covering war and famine. Still intrigued by the foreign correspondents of her adolescence, she embarks on a human treasure hunt in Israel, France and the US to find them. Brooks discovers men and women whose lives have been shaped by war and hatred, by fame and notoriety, and by the ravages of mental illness. Foreign Correspondence is an intimate, moving and often humorous memoir of growing up in Australia in the 1960s that speaks directly to the heart of everyone who ever yearned to become a citizen of the world.

As a young girl in a working-class neighborhood of Sydney, Australia, Geraldine Brooks longed to discover the places where history happens and culture comes from, so she enlisted pen pals who offered her a window on adolescence in the Middle East, Europe, and America. Twenty years later Brooks, an award-winning foreign correspondent, embarked on a human treasure hunt to find her pen friends. She found men and women whose lives had been shaped by war and hatred, by fame and notoriety, and by the ravages of mental illness. Intimate, moving, and often humorous, Foreign Correspondence speaks to the unquiet heart of every girl who has ever yearned to become a woman of the world.

Born on Bland Street in a working-class neighborhood of Sydney, Australia, Geraldine Brooks longs to discover the vivid places where history happens and culture comes from. She enlists pen pals who offer her a window on the hazards of adolescence in the Middle East, Europe, and America. With the aid of their letters, Brooks turns her bedroom into the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, the barricades of Parisian student protests, the swampy fields of an embattled kibbutz. Twenty years later - and worlds away from her sheltered girlhood - Brooks is an award-winning foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, reporting on wars and famines in the Middle East, Bosnia, and Africa. But she never forgets her earlier foreign correspondence. Traveling full circle to attend her dying father, Brooks stumbles on the old letters in her parents' basement. She embarks on a human treasure hunt to find her pen friends, and to retrieve her own lost memories of the shy Sydney girl who wrote to them. One by one, she finds men and women whose lives have been shaped by war and hatred, by fame and notoriety, and by the ravages of a mysterious and tragic mental illness. It is only from the distance of foreign lands and against the background of alien lives that Brooks finally sees her homeplace clearly. This intimate, moving, and often humorous memoir of growing up Down Under speaks to the unquiet heart of every girl who has ever yearned to become a woman of the world.

Geraldine Brooks of Sydney, Australia longs to discover what life is all about the world beyond her backyard, two thousand miles below the equator. Her pen pals offer her a window to that world. Twenty years later Brooks is an award-winning foreign correspondent. Back in Australia to attend to her dying father, she stumbles onto the old letters and embarks on a human treasure hunt for her pen pals to retrieve her own lost memories of the girl she once was. This intimate, moving memoir speaks to the heart of-every girl who has yearned to become a woman of the world.

From adolescent pen pal in the suburbs of Australia to prize-winning foreign correspondent, Geraldine Brooks presents an intimate and captivating memoir.  Born on Bland Street in a working-class neighborhood of Sydney, Australia, Geraldine Brooks longs to discover the vivid place where history happens and culture comes from. As a means of escaping the world around her, she enlists pen pals from around the globe who offer her a window on the hazards of adolescence in the Middle East, Europe, and America. With the aid of her letters, Brooks turns her bedroom into the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, the barricades of Parisian student protests, the swampy fields of an embattled kibbutz. Brooks goes from the protected environment of a Catholic girls school to the University of Sydney, eventually renting her own flat near the bustling Sydney harbor. She hires on as an intern at The Sydney Morning Herald and then wins a scholarship to the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University in New York City, where she begins her career as a foreign correspondent. As a writer for The Wall Street Journal, Brooks reports on wars and famines in the Middle East, Bosnia, and Africa, but she never forgets her earlier foreign correspondence. Back in Australia to attend her dying father, she stumbles on her old letters in her parents' basement, and embarks on a journey that tales her around the world on the most meaningful assignment of her career. Her search leads her through Israeli moshavim, Arab souks, medieval French hill towns, Martha's Vineyard fishing shacks, and Manhattan nightclubs. One by one, she finds men and women whose lives have been shaped by war and hatred, by fame and notoriety, and by the ravages of a mysterious and tragic mental illness. It is only from the distance of foreign lands and against the background of alien lives that Brooks finally sees her homeland and her own life clearly. Candid, thoughtful, and compelling, Foreign Correspondence speaks to the unquiet heart of every girl who has ever yearned to become a woman of the world.

"Born in Sydney's western suburbs in the 1950s, the young Geraldine Brooks longs to discover the vivid places where she believes history and culture are made. Penfriends from the Middle East, France and America offer her the window she craves on life beyond Australia's isolated backyard."-- Provided by publisher.

Memoirs of an award-winning foreign correspondent who returns home to Sydney, Australia and stumbles upon her girlhood correspondence with pen pals around the world.

As a child in Sydney in the 1950s, Geraldine Brooks longed to discover more about the outside world, so she began correspondence with pen pals in the Middle East, France and America. Twenty years later she decided to track down her long-lost pen friends.

Traveling full circle to attend her dying father, Brooks stumbles on the old letters in her parents' basement. She embarks on a human treasure hunt to find her pen friends, and to retrieve her own lost memories of the shy Sydney girl who wrote to them. One by one, she finds men and women whose lives have been shaped by war and hatred, by fame and notoriety, and by the ravages of a mysterious and tragic mental illness. It is only from the distance of foreign lands and against the background of alien lives that Brooks finally sees her homeplace clearly. This intimate, moving, and often humorous memoir of growing up Down Under speaks to the unquiet heart of every girl who has ever yearned to become a woman of the world.

Born in a western Sydney working-class area in the late 1950s, Geraldine Brooks longs to discover the vivid places beyond Australia's isolated backyard. Foreign Correspondent is an intimate, moving and often humorous account of growing up in Australia in the 1960s.

Born in Sydney's western suburbs in the late 1950s, the young Geraldine Brooks longs to discover the vivid places where she believes history and culture are made. Penfriends from the Middle East, France and America offer her the window she craves on life beyond Australia's isolated backyard. Twenty years later and worlds away from her sheltered girlhood, Brooks is an award-winning foreign correspondent covering war and famine. Foreign Correspondence is an intimate, moving and often humorous memoir of growing up in Australia in the 1960s that speaks directly to the heart of everyone who ever yearned to become a citizen of the world.

Geraldine Brooks was born in Sydney's western suburbs in the late 1950s and longed to discover more about the outside world she developed several pen friendships ...

An award-winning memoir from the bestselling author of MARCH and YEAR OF WONDERS Born in Sydney's western suburbs in the late 1950s, the young Geraldine Brooks longs to discover the vivid places where she believes history and culture are made. Penfriends from the Middle East, France and America offer her the window she craves on life beyond Australia's isolated backyard. With the aid of their letters, Brooks turns her bedroom into the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, the barricades of Parisian student protests and the swampy fields of an embattled kibbutz.

Born in a western Sydney working-class area in the late 1950s, Geraldine Brooks longs to discover the vivid places Penfriends from the Middle East, France and America offer her the window she craves on life beyond Australia's isolated backyard. Twenty years later, Brooks is an award-winning foreign correspondent. In Foreign Correspondence Brooks writes of people whose lives have been shattered by war and hatred, by fame and notoriety, and by the ravages of mental illness.