Full Circle: South Dakota & Samoa is a new book by Jackie Fa’asisila, who has lived in Samoa now for over 45 years.  

Jackie was born and raised in rural America but moved to inner city Kansas City in the late 1960’s to attend university. This opened the door to a bigger world, and she accepted Peace Corps’ invitation to develop curriculum in Western Samoa where she not only fell in love with the communal culture of Samoa but also a young Samoan chief. 

The book documents her changing personal perspectives against the backdrop of Samoa’s development and natural disasters. It describes both happy times and sad ones, like the premature death of her husband shortly after their twentieth wedding anniversary. Her tales of love, loss and dealing with responsibilities for an extended family shape the decades of her life.

Her reflections explore the realities of cross-cultural learning and illustrate how Samoa has been etched in her psyche.

Jackie Fa’asisila joins us now on Pacific Days for more.

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