Meet . . .
(On the sea wall in East Germany in 1988 and from the same spot in Germany in 2018)
Debby’s unusual junior year abroad established her as one of only a handful of Americans to participate in daily life in Cold War East Germany. The experience marked her soul.
Despite her B.A. from Brown University and M.A. from the University of Maryland, Debby’s true education has been exploring 50 countries on five continents. She also speaks German, Spanish, and rusty Portuguese. In addition to a career teaching and training teachers with the University of Southern California, the University of California at Berkeley Extension, the University of Alaska, and the University of Maryland, Debby raised a son, a daughter, a herd of cats, and an obstinate Corgi named Frodo.
As her children grew up, insistent, haunting memories tugged Debby back in time. Her research into a Cold War mystery from Germany’s second dictatorship has led to university lectures in Germany, interviews on US and German podcasts, and a feature essay in the Brown Alumni Magazine. When not writing or hiking in coastal California, Debby can be found in the laundry room honing her Superpower: the extraction of sand from socks.