A fairly light romp through the eyes of an expat in thailand

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	• A Broad Abroad In Thailand: An Expat's Misadventures in the Land of Smiles Dodie Cross Four Ways West/Cross Publications, 2007 - 416 pages average customer review:based on 9 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A Broad Abroad in Thailand

Living abroad in Thailand is not always all it is said to be as author Dodie Cross quickly realized. The result of her near year-long adventure? A "laugh out loud must-read memoir" called A Broad Aboard in Thailand An Expat's Misadventures in the Land of Smiles.

When newly widowed Dodie first met and became involved with Dick, she had no idea what lay in store for her. When Dick is offered an incredible job opportunity in Thailand, there is no question that Dodie wanted to go along. Pushed into a quick marriage, the two soon set off for lands unknown.

Their first experiences in Thailand were luxurious. If only the same could be said for the rest of her stay. Dick and Dodie are soon moved into a new company-owned home and begin to realize very quickly that this wonderful opportunity came with some serious strings attached.

Dodie is fortunate to find many allies and friends. Faithful Pon, Dodie's live-in housekeeper and friend very quickly earned a place in Dodie's heart, as did the "beautiful orphans" Dodie considered herself fortunate to work with at the Pattaya Orphanage. The ladies from the Pattaya International Ladies' Club (PILC) also played a large part in comforting Dodie and helping her to keep her sanity but at the same time were part of an on-going problem Dodie had with the boss' wife, Mrs. Anorexia or Mrs. A for short (named changed to protect the guilty).

While the area and the friends Dodie made would endear Thailand to her forever, problems followed her almost from the beginning of this fateful journey. The primary problem Dodie faced was Dick. Dick suffered from an addiction and had, at times some extreme issues. This would be a large part of their undoing. Competing with Dick for "problem of the trip" was the insufferable control freak Mrs. A. While not an employee of The Company, Mrs. A issued many rules regarding nearly every aspect of the lives - both public and private - of the employees and their wives. To cross Mrs. A or to break one of her and her husband's rules was to earn an instant trip back to the States. Unfortunately for Dodie, she and Mrs. A were at cross purposes almost constantly. Medical problems, a near fatal accident and probably countless blunders in dealing with the Thai people all plague Dodie as well.

This memoir, though thick, is very difficult to put down. Dodie Cross has achieved a great accomplishment: her readers will feel an almost immediate connection to her. They will feel her anxiety, her stresses, her amusement and most certainly with groan along with her at the mere thought of Mrs. A. Mrs. Cross is to be applauded for this outstanding book.

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A fairly light romp through the eyes of an expat in thailand

I purchased this book because, as an expat who lives in thailand, it seemed like a great idea. Overall, it's an easy read and certainly has quite a few shares of laughs. However, quite a large portion of the book is devoted to her doomed marriage to a horny jerk- something I really didn't sign up to hear about! Her adventures, although I feel for her, were also not quite as adventurous as I expected- and while I commend her for making a trip to the mall to buy underwear interesting, it's still just that. Same thing goes for eating in reataurants, taking public transportation, and getting a massage. Her bad experience with the hospitals make me grimace as well- I have had fabulous healthcare in bangkok and would hate for anyone to confuse Pattaya a few years back with modern hospitals in thailand.
All in all, I would love to sit down with her and have a few drinks and relive the quirks of living here, but can't say I would reread the book.

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A Great Read

Dodie is my friend and I learned many things I never knew about her.
I knew she was fun, a great story teller and a wonderful person.
Her book made me laugh, it made me cry, but most of all I have an even
deeper appreciation for who she truly is. I read the entire book on a plane flight from coast to coast and believe me the flight went quickly.
I even caught my husband reading it. No one can take a serious situation
and make you enjoy reading about it like Dodie. Thailand was not a place I
wanted to go, but the trip was worth it with Dodie.
Nancy Metty

Nancy Metty

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Adventures and misadventures in Thailand

Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (12/07)

"A Broad Abroad in Thailand" promised to be a book that I could relate to in several ways. Being an expat myself, I always find what other expats have to say about their new countries fascinating; I've always considered myself a broad and I absolutely adore Thailand. So at a first glance I found it hard to imagine that the book could live up to my expectations...

Having read a fair number of books about expat life and experiences, I mostly found them quite imbalanced and superficial. Granted, most of the authors were rather young, but in the majority of cases I was just not overly impressed by them. Dodie Cross' "A Broad Abroad in Thailand" is definitely an exception. The author never tries to hide the fact that she was no spring chicken when she headed to the Land of Smiles, which certainly gives an interesting spin to her observations. We get to learn more about orphanages and healthcare than we do about beach parties and bars, which in my opinion is a nice improvement. Ms. Cross also nicely balances the funny-to-hilarious misadventures with more serious issues and her `who-could-ever-understand-those-habits' moments with her obvious admiration and respect of Thailand, its culture and its people.

Ms. Cross' memoir begins with a hasty marriage to a golf instructor, which is needed in order for her to be able to accompany him to his new position in Thailand. Although she is not totally certain that marrying Dick (and oh, what an appropriate name for him!) is such a great idea, she decides to go forward with it. Their move to a new country is very eventful - as those moves tend to be... Very soon she is battling not only a badly cracking marriage to a sex addict, but also countless rules and regulations imposed by the wife of Dick's boss, the overpowering Ms. Anorexia. Ms. Cross would rather get to know her new country and meet the people, but all such attempts are considered by Ms. Anorexia as against the rules. Then along comes the near-fatal accident on the infamous Sukhumvit Highway - which truly is at least as bad as described by Ms. Cross as well as a bladder surgery with unexpected results. Dick is not thrilled by Dodie's restored virginity, the boss is not thrilled by Dick and Ms. Anorexia is just generally not thrilled with anything, particularly not with Dodie. Such is the sorry state of affairs overall, which will only lead to more trouble. You will, however, have to read the book for yourself to learn how Dodie resolves the situation.

Having seen that Ms. Cross has also lived in New Orleans among other places, I will definitely keep an eye out for a book about those experiences. According to the little addendum, she is already working on one about her life in Iran, so I can only hope that the New Orleans one will be next. As for "A Broad Abroad in Thailand," I found it well written and very enjoyable. If you need something to brighten your day, just read one of the funnier chapters, maybe the one about mastering the use of Thai toilets or the joys of buying underwear in a strange country. You will feel so grateful that you do not have to deal with any of this that your day will immediately improve. Great read for expats, expats-to-be, wanna-be- expats, travelers and just about anybody else with a sense of humor.

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S.A. Palm Desert, California

What a great book! I can hardly wait for the next Dodie Cross book to be released. In the meantime, I will reread A Broad Abroad in Thailand. Dodies writing style reminds me of Erma Brombeck stories which I so loved. When I read Dodies book, I felt as if I was making the journey to Thailand with her. I feel anyone purchasing this book will be looking for more of Dodie Cross and her
journeys.

reviews: page 1, 2

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