Clueless Gringos in Paradise

Adventures with My Husband, his PTSD, and Two Enormous Service Dogs

Editions:ebook, Hardcover

In a snap decision fueled by boredom, author Pamela Foster and her Vietnam Veteran husband, Jack, sell everything they own and set off for their new home—Bocas del Toro, Panama, a “tropical paradise.” Adventure and change are what they’re seeking, and it’s just what they find when they pick up the leashes of their two 150-pound service dogs and emigrate to a foreign country. Jack is a chronically impulsive former Marine with raging PTSD, and the service dogs, Chesty and Rocca, are mastiffs who are never farther away than the end of a leash.

Clueless Gringos in Paradise is as much about escape and adventure as it is companionship, and finding a balance between a wife who is prone to bursts of anxiety, a husband who thinks everything is “just fine,” and two giant dogs that are not cut out for long-distance travel proves to be as challenging as making an impromptu move to another country.

This story takes readers through a hilarious and harrowing journey on airplanes, boats, and buses, in taxis, high-rise hotels, restaurants, and cat-infested fish markets. Add a liberal dose of high anxiety—how could it not be hilarious?

Published: January 27, 2020

Publisher: Otterford

Genres:

Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction

Tags:

memoir, travel

About the Author

Pamela Foster

Pamela Foster lives in her hometown of Eureka, California in the coastal fog and rain of the west coast. A popular speaker and award winning author of contemporary fiction, historical fiction, memoirs and a collection of essays, Foster is currently working on a book of essays about caring for her husband as, together, they deal with the long-term, human costs of war.

Other Books By Pamela Foster

Stand-Alone Books

Sorted First to Last

Boogie with Chesty

Clueless Gringos in Paradise

Fingernail Moon

Series: Bigfoot

Sorted First to Last

Bigfoot Blues

Bigfoot Mamas

Series: Noisy Creek

Sorted First to Last

Noisy Creek

Series: Soldier's Heart Trilogy

Sorted First to Last

Soldier's Heart

Under the September Sky

Under an Endless September Sky, Sometimes the Story Finds You.
Sapphire Sullivan has spent almost a year trying to forget the only boy she’s ever loved. One stolen kiss with her brother’s best friend changed everything. When Jack Murphy called it a mistake, Sapphire promised herself she’d stop wishing for something that could never be.
Then Labor Day weekend brings him back into her life.
Under the glow of carnival lights and an endless September sky, Jack looks at her the way he used to. Old feelings ignite, forgotten dreams come rushing back, and Sapphire starts believing that maybe first love deserves a second chance.
Until someone else appears.
Jett is the kind of boy who only exists in stories. He’s beautiful, mysterious, and seemingly devoted to only her. There’s only one problem—no one else can see him.
Except Jack.
Sapphire doesn’t know why Jett came into her life, what connects him to Jack, or what he truly wants from her. But as strange moments become impossible to ignore and the line between the real world and something more begins to blur, Sapphire is forced to question everything she believes about love, fate, and the stories we tell ourselves.
Because sometimes the hardest choice isn’t between the past and the future. It’s between the story you’ve been writing… and the life waiting to be lived.

Fourth of Forever

One summer. One secret. One love they never saw coming.
Aliya Jacobs has always counted down the days to summer at Lake Carrington—sunlit swims in turquoise water, lazy afternoons at her uncle’s cabin, and every moment spent with her best friend, Nick. But this summer brings an unwelcome surprise… Nick’s cousin Wyatt.
Sharp-tongued, guarded, and openly resentful of the out-of-towners he calls “hillies,” Wyatt clashes with Aliya from the moment they meet. Yet when a late-night rescue leads them to a reclusive old man and a map tied to a long-lost treasure—their rivalry turns into something far more complicated.
Whispers of hidden clues begin to surface, suggesting the legend might be real. At the same time, the powerful Elias Corporation is closing in, determined to transform Lake Carrington into a luxury resort that could destroy Nick’s family store and the town Aliya loves.
Reluctantly forced to work together, Aliya and Wyatt race to uncover the truth before time runs out. But as danger grows and secrets unravel, they must decide what matters more: finding a treasure that could save the lake… or risking their hearts on something even more uncertain.

Forgotten Fayetteville and More Hidden Histories from Washington County

Washington County has nearly two centuries of stories to tell, and many of them have been forgotten.
In this follow-up to Forgotten Fayetteville, local historians J. B. Hogan and Susan Parks-Spencer uncover more of the people, places, and events that shaped Fayetteville and the surrounding county. Explore the violent early years of Evansville, revisit the shocking murder that led to the execution of the Burnett family, and discover what made April 1864 one of the deadliest months in Washington County history. You’ll meet John Rollin Ridge, the first Native American novelist, learn the story of Rebecca Brown Tollett’s life in slavery, and examine the tragic lynching of Reverend Anthony Bewley.
From vanished towns and frontier churches to forgotten cemeteries, pioneering families, and overlooked chapters of Native American, Black, and immigrant history, these stories reveal a richer and more complex past than many realize. Woven together, they form a portrait of the lives, triumphs, and tragedies that shaped this corner of the Ozarks and the communities that call it home.
Whether you’re a lifelong resident, a newcomer, or simply a student of Arkansas history, Forgotten Fayetteville and More Hidden Histories from Washington County invites you to look beyond familiar landmarks and rediscover the people and events that helped shape the Ozarks.

Roan & Weatherford

Clueless Gringos in Paradise