Jennifer Erie is no stranger to hustling, but after living through a “triple whammy” of traumatic events last year, the hustle looks a lot different. She’s no longer pulling together partner coalitions to tackle public health issues, instead she’s “like those guys back in the day who used to sell their tapes out of the back of their trunks or on the train. It’s a real hustle, but I’m trying to keep the faith.”
Lorine Ghabranious sat down with Jennifer (✨️ The World In My Bones 🌍) earlier this week to explore what her life has been like since being DOGED from her career as a Foreign Service Officer at USAID. The conversation centers around Jennifer’s new book The World In My Bones: The Diplomat Queens Made but covers so much more.
Jennifer has dealt with many personal challenges over the last year. She lost her job and her mother in the same week. Then there was the Bangkok earthquake which devastated her former home and threw the lives of her friends into disarray. She also had to face the reality of trying to find a new job. 350 resumes later and she’s still searching.
But Jennifer hasn’t slowed down. In fact, she’s “the busiest unemployed person” her son knows. Having created a supportive platform centered on music, mediation, self-reflection, community, and storytelling, Jennifer is building a new future.
Be sure to watch the full interview to learn more about Jennifer’s journey and check out these follow up events coming later this month.
July 22: Live Discussion on Writing and Publishing: Jennifer coming back and is bringing her book editor, Maria MacAndrew along for the ride. We’ll spend an hour or so pulling back the curtain on the actual mechanics of writing a book and getting it published. If you’ve been thinking about how to get your story out there, be sure to join us at 10am EST.
July 23: DC Storytelling Event: If you’re in the DC area head to Busboys and Poets on 14th where Jennifer will be hosting a storytelling event in collaboration with American University starting at 6pm.
