Heartbreak and hope, a Quaker mom's mission of peace in war-torn Yugoslavia.Treading Water at the Shark Café is an American Quaker woman's extraordinary journey of witness and discovery from her suburban Philadelphia home to the war zones of the former Yugoslavia. Set against a background of violence, her story focuses on young people-often forgotten in times of war-who lived outside the spotlight.Like the Freedom Riders and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in the United States, the student activists in the former Yugoslavia envisioned a better world, taking incredible risks to make their dreams come true. Optimism, energy, and imagination conjure new possibilities, even in the midst of chaos. Told with honesty and deep conviction, this memoir will resonate with a growing audience of readers who are tired of political warmongering and share a longing for effective nonviolent alternatives. Lyndon Back graduated from State University of New York at Oneonta in 1968. She then moved with her husband and three children to Vicenza, Italy, where she taught English as a Second Language. She has a CELTA/TESOL certificate from the School of International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont. In 1979, Lyn received a master's in public administration from State University of New York at Albany. Her competency in Serbo-Croatian was earned at the Akbukum Language School in Novi Sad, Serbia.In 1998, Lyn left her job as director of planned giving at the American Friends Service Committee to volunteer with the Balkan Peace Teams in Belgrade, Serbia, and Prishtina, Kosovo. She was one of only a few American women to live and work in the former Yugoslavia before, during, and after the NATO bombing. Lyn lives in suburban Philadelphia. Her experiences in the Balkans continue to influence her writing. Her poems, essays, and short stories have appeared in numerous literary journals. Lyn is a member of Old Haverford Monthly Meeting (Quakers).
