Longtime Missouri journalist reflects on Peace Corps days in new book
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- When Anne Spry graduated from the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri in December of 1970, she had no way of knowing that a few months later, she would be part of a life-changing experience in the Peace Corps.
Spry's new book, called "Taking the Long Way Home: A Peace Corps Memoir of Brazil," in which she chronicles a three and a half year time period with the Peace Corps, which gave her skills and passion she would utilize for the rest of her career.
Spry, the longtime publisher of the Caldwell County News based in Hamilton, Missouri, said her recent retirement, along with the urging of close friends, prompted her to reflect on those days.
She hopes to remind people of the importance of now underfunded organizations like the Peace Corps and to remind younger people that serving others can enhance whatever career they choose to enter.
"I actually began writing this book over fifty years ago, after I returned to the U.S. from my Peace Corps service," Spry said. "But, becoming a newspaper publisher and editor consumed me, and only lately have I had time to finish."
Spry noted the importance of the Peace Corps in providing face-to-face connections with people throughout the world in a way that benefitted all involved, while giving a positive reputation to the U.S.
"Part of the push to finish this book recently, after all these years, came from the turmoil that the world is now in," Spry said. "The protests that are occurring all over the country remind me of the late 60s and early 70s protests that took place on college campuses and elsewhere."
She said the message of the Peace Corps, which she continued to support even after beginning her job in Missouri in 1974, is just as relevant now as it was when she participated over 50 years ago.
"I believe so strongly in the role of the Peace Corps for promoting understanding," Spry said.
She also said she believes not only the rewarding service people experience in organizations like the Peace Corps, but the life skills those opportunities in remote places provide can prove to be life-changing.
"The teaching I had the opportunity to do was an important skill for me," Spry said. "Also, the opportunity to oversee a team, to organize projects and to oversee employees helped me throughout my life and career."
The book is available on Amazon and in a variety of bookstores in the area in hardcover, softcover and e-book formats.
Spry will have a book signing and reading at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13 at the Hamilton Federated Church in Hamilton, Missouri.
