By Ashley Sava

Driftwood author Jane Brockway recently released her first book, “An Everyday Occurrence: Growing Up in the Shadows of the State Department,” where she describes her unique experience living the life as the daughter of a U.S.  attaché.

“My father had a really interesting life, and his father did too, but we never recorded it so we didn’t want that all to get lost,” Brockway said. “I have two sons who now have a record of everything.”

Brockway said that it wasn’t her intention to get published at all. She just didn’t want her family history to disappear.

“This was really for my boys to have,” Brockway said. “When I started writing it was a very long process, but I didn’t think it would be a book. At first this was just supposed to be a collection of short stories for us.”

“An Everyday Occurrence” starts out in Italy and takes readers through France and Africa. Brockway’s autobiography describes her life maturing in the various cultures and ways of life in different countries. Living on the economy while still protected by the U.S. State Department, Brockway goes through an adventure where working side by side with counts and princes is just an everyday routine.

“The trend throughout the book are letters from my mom to her sister,” Brockway said. “It’s about the cultural differences and how a young woman dealt with living in economies in different cultures. A lot of the book is also a tribute to my mother and how remarkable she was.”

She said that her most difficult cultural transition was the move to America. At 18 years old she began college in northern California and struggled to adjust to American life.

“I came here not speaking the language extremely well,” Brockway said. 

“I really had grown up in French culture. I remember asking what a Twinkie was in class. I was like an alien.”

Brockway moved to Dripping Springs in 2008 and has since settled into her life in Driftwood. Although writing isn’t her day job, she already is working on a settled book that will be called “An Everyday Affair” which will discuss her journey in overcoming breast cancer.

“It makes you very humble to put yourself out there,” she said. “Now that it’s out people can read about my first boyfriend, food preferences, diseases, all kind of things.” 

“An Everyday Occurrence” was published by Tate Publishing and Enterprises. The book is available through bookstores nationwide and from the publisher at www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore.