Book Description

This is Suzanne Fournier's journey from a stay-at-home mom of seven to a senior government leader and of how she did it. At age forty, she went back to work as a clerk for the Army. She had seven children at home, aged from kindergarten through high school, no degree and no job for fifteen years-not exactly a ticket to a successful career. Fast forward twenty-five years, she retired as the highest communication director for a Washington, D.C. government agency. She represented highly controversial topics such as the aftermath of Katrina, destruction of World War II chemical weapons, and educating Americans about the threat of chemical, biological, and nuclear terrorism. She met members of Congress and White House staffers and served as an expert speaker and media spokesperson. She volunteered to serve in Iraq as an Army civilian traveling Southern Iraq during the most dangerous months of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She flew on helicopters over the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan and traveled to every state representing military missions. The backdrop for her book is her eight-month deployment to Iraq where she faced unfamiliar terrain, trepidation, and insecurity battles, along with real physical dangers of traveling in a war zone. "Grandma in Iraq," is the name the Cincinnati Enquirer gave her blog, the first and only blog Department of the Army approved to publish with a major newspaper. She learned to seek opportunities, adapt, take risks, and venture into uncharted waters. She dealt with the mommy guilt of balancing family and career, a hearing impairment, and gender bias. She sought a successful family and a successful career. "If I can do it, you can do it. Just pray, trust in God, and believe in yourself!"