Triumph & Hope: Golden Years With The Peace Corps in Honduras

by Barbara E. Joe

Book Overview

When the author announced plans to join the Peace Corps in her 60s, a male friend was skeptical, predicting her prompt return home, '?by Christmas at the latest.'? But thanks to the welcoming folks of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1439222029
• ISBN13: 9781439222027
• Release Date: December 2008
• Publisher: Booksurge Publishing
• Length: 318 Pages
• Weight: 1.03 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Triumph and Hope

Barbara E. Joe writes with agility and wit. This book is required reading for all those persons who skillfully persuade themselves that it is better to put off things until tomorrow. Barbara Joe's book reminds us that life doesn't wait until tomorrow and that unforeseen circumstances sometimes compel us to follow our dreams. I am reminded of a chapter in Bertrand Russell's The Conquest of Happiness - "Zest" or enthusiasm...you don't write books like Triumph and Hope without a full tank of zest. But in Barbara Joe's case this life-affirming quality is borne out of desolation and despair, and for that reason all the more uplifting.

Triumph & Hope

As a former Volunteer in Colombia 1964-66 and Country Director in Argentina and Uruguay 1993-95,I find Barbara Joe's book a gift for all past and future Volunteers and Staff! The new Peace Corps Director when appointed should be given a copy to read and keep with her or him! Especially if they have never been a Peace Corps Volunteer! From my experience, Barbara Joe's beautiful story of her three years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras is not about her age, but the commitment she has always had...to reach out to others. She goes to Honduras at age 62 knowing that her friends back in the U.S. think she will be home by Christmas...but her children believe in her. I am extremely impressed with her use of the black and white photos throughout her book, you feel that you are right there with her and her host country family. Some Volunteers and Staff spend their tour counting the days until they get to go home, while others really get involved in their communities, and like Barbara these are the Volunteers who adopt or are adopted by their new country, to become their "patria chica" or adopted homeland. Volunteers will often refer to their country of service as their new adopted homeland, and find something in themselves that they did not know existed...the special feeling that causes them to love and respect their new community. As Barbara says, "I now feel part Honduran!" Having trained Peace Corps personnel, I feel Barbara Joe's book is a "how to" for future Volunteers and Staff, this must be made mandatory reading...pay attention Peace Corps, and not a bad way for family and friends to learn what it means to be with the Peace Corps. If you are even thinking about the experience that will change your life, check out Triumph and Hope by Barbara Joe...I couldn't put it down once I opened to the first page. Bob Arias Salem, Oregon

Triumph and Hope by Barbara E Joe

Think you don't know a hero? Meet Barbara E Joe, who joined the Peace Corps at age 62. Leaving her home in D.C., she spent two terms in Honduras, living in deprivation while teaching, interceding, mentoring, and dealing with the health problems of those in need, with empathy and in Spanish. Though she became known as "Doctora Barbara," she dispensed only aspirin while soliciting and distributing clothing, books, shoes and eyeglasses from home. She was creative in handling "critters," extremes of weather, the "chicken bus", and whatever she was dealt. At 70, she is preparing for her fourth return trip to be helping out with a general medical brigade in a village near La Esperanza with the same group mentioned under "Las Hortensias" in the epilogue. She will also be following up on young ortho patients she took for surgery two years ago. She is an excellent descriptive writer and includes many photos.

Triumph of Hope

Barbara Joe served in the Peace Corps in El Triunfo and La Esperanza, Honduras, hence the book's title. Triumph & Hope is an unvarnished account of the challenges the two communities presented to their residents and, by extension, to one very well prepared, dedicated, and resourceful PC volunteer whose hope to "make a difference" surely deserves to be described as a triumph. Although one of the author's aims in writing the book was to inspire qualified people in late middle age to maximize their lifetime contribution to humanity by volunteering for Peace Corps service, this path will not be for everyone. A great understatement in the annals of truth in advertising is the author's prefatory caution: "no sugar-coating." Nevertheless, this account of Barbara Joe's journey will entertain and enlighten armchair travelers, happy to leave life-threatening incidents and primitive tropical environments to others. In rural regions that must be called backward, horrifying details of poverty and the tragic results of ignorance are matched by the joy of countless Hondurans to whom the author routinely brought help and comfort. Barbara Joe's acts of compassionate competence were at first a source of amazement to the beneficiaries. As time went on, however, the reader gathers that the 60something volunteer was on her way to becoming a legend. Among the good features of this book is raw material not to be found elsewhere: the author's unedited photographs of people described in the chapters, and her candid digressions into non-Peace Corps aspects of the region, Nicaragua in particular, and immigration policy, informed by decades of human rights work.

Excellent Description of a PCV Experience

This is a remarkable story of an older woman's Peace Corps volunteerism in the country of Honduras. Her story describes the experiences she encountered throughout her three years there, the culture, the people, the poverty and devastation she encountered, and her successes that made a difference to those she tried to help. The book contains detailed descriptions of her daily life in her Honduran Peace Corps service and some photographs as well. This is a fitting story for those interested in a frank, descriptive diary of a woman wanting to resolve some of the health care issues facing a small nation in Central America. The story is especially inspiring for those of an older generation of people who wish to join the Peace Corps and contribute their service. Barbara Joe makes periodic return visits to Honduras, and one is invited to sign onto her blog, and post comments and questions at http://honduraspeacecorps.blogspot.com.