Description

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Fans of the self-discovering journeys in Cheryl Strayed’s Wild and Andrew McCarthy’s The Longest Way Home will love diving into linguist Linda Murphy Marshall’s adventure-filled international journey as she overcomes her past to find her place in the world—all over the world.

Immersion is a memoir that takes the reader on a captivating emotional and physical journey through Linda Murphy Marshall’s life: from the longstanding, crippling impact of family members’ low expectations and abuse, to her discovery as a young adult that she possesses special skills in foreign languages.

Linda is taught from an early age that she has little of value to offer the world. But her love of and affinity for languages enables her to create a new life—to separate herself from her toxic environment and to build a successful, decades-long career as a professional multilinguist. It’s a rewarding vocation, but a challenging one: her assignments with the US federal government take her on some hair-raisingly dangerous journeys, some to countries with unstable governments and even active war zones. But these sometimes-harrowing experiences teach her how to open the “windows” around her, unearth her true self, and develop a healthy sense of self-worth—and ultimately, paradoxically, her work and travel so far from home allow her to come home to herself.

About the Author

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Linda Murphy Marshall is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and holds a PhD in Hispanic Languages and Literature, an MA in Spanish, and an MFA in Creative Writing. A professional multilinguist and a translator for more than thirty years, she has formally studied and worked with more than fifteen languages. She was a senior research scientist at the University of Maryland’s Center for Advanced Study of Language/CASL. She is a former trustee and current associate at the National Museum of Language and is a docent at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. Murphy Marshall lives in Columbia, Maryland.

Praise For…

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“Marshall’s latest book is a deeply personal and marvelously authentic narrative told with humor, suspense, humility, and authority. Linda depicts how language is woven into real life, how it instills insights and affections, and what it reveals about others—and oneself. I have spent over seven decades learning, using, describing, and advocating for language abilities, and I only wish I had written a book like this.” 
— Dr. Richard D. Brecht, University of Maryland Professor Emeritus, codirector of the American Councils Research Center, cofounder of Jeenie.com, and founding executive director of the University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language (CASL) 

“With an artist’s eye for detail and a skilled writer’s talent for capturing drama, Marshall created an enthralling narrative of her path to becoming a top national language expert and her own journey to finding her true self in the process. Unique and engrossing.” 
— Laura Murray, PhD, President, National Museum of Language