LESSONS FROM THE EDGE

A Memoir
by Marie Yovanovitch

Lessons From the Edge provides another perfect example of why I love being in a book club. I would never have read this book on my own. But because it was a selection for my Boston Bates Alumnae Book Club, I read it and found it fascinating.

Marie Yovanovitch had a 30-year diplomatic career working for the United States in locations as wide ranging as Somalia, Russia and the United Kingdom. But it was when President Donald Trump recalled her from her post in Ukraine, and she decided to testify during his first impeachment hearings about the United States government’s illegal attempts at bribery, that Yovanovitch became truly well-known.

Yovanovitch’s low-key approach to telling her story really sucks you in. She describes in stunning fashion what it is like to have a career in the male-dominated U.S. foreign service. Consistently hard-working, dedicated and truly patriotic, the reader experiences some of Yovanovitch’s shock when Trump’s team engineered a smear campaign against her because she wouldn’t bend to their will. Lessons From the Edge offers a compelling glimpse into the world of foreign service and what it means to devote your life to that service. Beautifully written and powerful, this is a memoir worth reading. (Liz)