Precerpt from In with the East Wind: A Mary Poppins Kind of Life

Precerpt (excerpt prior to publication from the forthcoming memoir, In with the East: A Mary Poppins Kind of Life by Dr. Betty Lou Leaver

Fir Balsam

If I had to name the scent of my childhood, other than lilac, it would be fir balsam. Not pine, not spruce—fir. The real thing. The one with flat, needled branches that broke off in a soft snap, leaving your fingers sticky with sap and your nose full of something that smelled like winter and warmth at the same time. Most people say balsam fir, but where I grew up, it was always fir balsam—likely a reflection of the Acadian French influence that shaped much of our local speech.

At Christmas, all us kids would follow my father through the snow to the woods behind our house to cut down a fir balsam for our tree. He would pace through the trees with quiet authority, selecting just the right one—not too tall, not too spindly. We’d help drag it back to the house, and on the way, gather extra boughs for decorating. Some would go over doorways or get wired into wreaths or poked into Mason jars to scent the corners of rooms that otherwise smelled like woodstove and snow boots.

Fir balsam was the smell of the woods behind the farmhouse, of Christmases that were more woodshed than wrapping paper, of hikes that started with errands and ended with scraped knees and a handful of mushrooms or wintergreen. It was the smell of the edges of things—fence lines, rock walls, the thick margins where forest met field and childhood met something quieter.

We even made sachets from the crushed needles, sewing them into little squares of cotton and tucking them into our underwear drawers. Those, at least, I can still buy online, and I do—keeping them in the same old places: the drawers, the closets. They still keep things smelling clean and green and refresh memories of "home."

Book Description:

From the barefoot freedom of rural Maine to the diplomatic halls of Central Asia, from rescuing a dying child in Siberia to training astronauts in Houston and Star City, In with the East Wind traces an extraordinary life lived in service, not strategy.

Unlike those who chase opportunity, the author responded to it—boarding planes, crossing borders, and stepping into urgent roles she never sought but never declined. Over 75 years and 26 countries, she worked as a teacher, soldier, linguist, professor, diplomat, and cultural ambassador. Whether guiding Turkmen diplomats, mentoring Russian scholars, or founding academic programs in unlikely places, her journey unfolded through a steady stream of voices asking: Can you come help us?

Told through an alphabetical journey across places that shaped her—from Acton, Maine to Uzbekistan—this memoir is rich with insight, adventure, and deep humanity. At its heart lies the quiet power of answering the call to serve, wherever it may lead.

Like Mary Poppins, she drifted in with the East Wind—bringing what was needed, staying just long enough, and leaving behind transformation. Then she returned home, until the next wind called.

From the forthcoming book:

In with the East Wind...A Mary Poppins Kind of Life
Volume 1: ABC Lands

by Dr. Betty Lou Leaver

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