Editor’s Note: Gregory Buford, the author of a novel and two memoirs — including the recently released Kept: An American Househusband in Paris — answers stories from our readers as part of our Trailing-Spouse Book Club.
Q: How did you become a trailing spouse?
Exploring the world. Studying yoga with experts. Making friends from dozens of countries. Learning Spanish. Raising tri-lingual, adventurous kids. Starting a business. Building my brand.
For some trailing spouses, moving to a new country can be a career setback. But for me, following my husband’s career to Guatemala and India opened up incredible opportunities that I never could have imagined back home.
I am walking on air! My book Diplomatic Baggage, first published in 2005 about my adventures as a trailing spouse to my E.U. diplomat husband AW, has been bought by Bloomsbury and released again with a fancy – you could almost say sexy – new cover!
A big thank you to Alexandra Pringle, who published my last two memoirs (Packing Up: Further Adventures of a Trailing Spouse and Full Marks for Trying: An Unlikely Journey from the Raj to the Rag Trade) and decided to make it a trilogy with Dip Bag.
I made so many friends all around the world during the years described in the book, and then through hearing from its readers (including Nicole, the creator of this very blog)! When I wrote Dip Bag, I don’t think I appreciated quite how many of us trailing spouses there were because I was mainly thinking of dip wives like myself and not the hundreds — thousands — whose partners work abroad for other reasons. I now realize that I am part of a real global family.