A Place to Be

Vignettes from a Life

As a child, Jatinder Cheema survives the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan and later goes on to enjoy a long career as a diplomat with USAID, serving in Asia, Africa, Central Asia, Armenia, Afghanistan, Eritrea and more. A Place to Be is the story of the choices she makes and how she navigates life and work as a woman, transitioning from country to country, somehow making each place a place to be--a home. She often finds herself in hardship assignments, in remote areas, confronting difficult cultural differences and geographical challenges. Cheema's experiences with USAID illustrate the complex role that development, humanitarian assistance, and diplomacy has played in America’s role in the world.

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The Black Attaché

Vignettes from a Life

The Black Attaché is an irresistible blend of history, travelogue, and reflection that takes you on a journey from the childhood in India, where Cheema lived through the partition of India and Pakistan, nearly dying on the last train out of Pakistan during the riots, to her career as an American diplomat stationed in hardship posts around the world.

With honesty and warmth, Cheema describes her childhood memories and events from places like Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Burkina Faso, amongst others where she has lived and worked. This is a remarkable memoir by a remarkable woman, and nothing like anything you've read before.

As I Remember

The voice in this story is of Raminder Kaur, my mother. She told me that there is much she has forgotten and much that she chose to forget. Born in 1924, she had to quit school before she finished high school, the fact she regretted all her life, to take care of her siblings when her mother died. She wanted to be a doctor. But those times were different for women. After her mother’s death she had to take over the family responsibilities. She was married at fourteen and at nineteen became a mother, while still learning to understand herself as a teenager. In this memoire, she shares with us her perception of a changing world, what family means to her and the many losses of loved ones she experienced. Reading her tale, we witness her underling strength, resilience, and a persistent belief in life’s higher meaning.

This book was produced by JK Cheema, who edited parts of it and added to the story from her conversations with her mother, Raminder.

The book was produced in association with Life History Services, LLC

Grandparents, Parents, Children & Grandchildren