Misfits Abroad: Adventures in Love, Language, and Foreign Lands

Experiences are unique. Responses are universal.

The Misfits theme has to do with the funny missteps one makes when immersed in a new culture. The Misfits may be learners on the bilingual continuum, civilians on an army base, soldiers and sailors far away from home, young people in the wrong marriage, Americans not blending in, or the occasional ones who do. There's even a story about an American man who had never been in his own country. The author's goal has always been to balance the appeal of an unusual circumstance with the resonance of universal human experience. Some essays are witty or ironic; others are tender or nostalgic.

The author balances the appeal of an unusual circumstance with the resonance of universal human experience. In this collection of vignettes, the reader will identify with the Misfits and the missteps they make when immersed in a new culture. The Misfits may be learners on the bilingual continuum, civilians on an army base, sailors far from home, young people in the wrong marriage, Americans not blending in, or the occasional ones who do. There's even a story about a man who had never been in his own country. The characters she describes are quirky, compelling and memorable.

Martine Robinson Beachboard began her career as a community journalist. She has worked as a public-relations professional and an advertising professor in the United States and in Europe. Everywhere she went surprising situations worked their way into her life and into her writing. The characters in these vignettes are quirky, compelling and memorable.