Six Car Lengths Behind an Elephant: Undercover and Overwhelmed As a CIA Wife and Mother

Imagine being married to a spy. Imagine keeping the big secret and moving your family from country to country to country. How does it all work? In this entertaining memoir, Lillian McCloy shares stories from her life as the wife of an undercover CIA officer. It's an eye-opening and often humorous tale about the CIA, marriage, family, secrets, friendships, international adventures, and the meaning of home. "A charming and unusual portrait of the secret life." – JOHN LE CARRE ́, author of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy "Lillian McCloy reveals the intrigue, danger, and humor of clandestine life in her thoroughly entertaining account of a CIA family's nomadic lifestyle. Few living in the U.S. will ever encounter the unique trials and tribulations of the McCloy family, but what a fascinating read it is!" – ALAN B. TRABUE, CIA (Ret.), author of A Life of Lies and Spies "If you're married to a spy, the always fraught arena of a relationship turns into a positive minefield. What does that all-night absence mean? What can you begin to say to the kids? Lillian McCloy gives us the story of a life spent around secret intelligence that is funny and charming and in every wonderful sense, deeply spooky." – PICO IYER, author of Video Night in Kathmandu and The Art of Stillness "It's charming, often troubling, and sometimes hilarious and is altogether a fascinating read" – BERKELEYSIDE Book Review "McCloy is a brilliant storyteller, sharing honest emotions without becoming sentimental. Her husband's new assignments required learning to live in new and diverse cultures and often created palpable tension. Sometimes I had to remind myself this is not a novel, it's Lillian's life. Wow!" – STORY CIRCLE BOOK REVIEW Excerpt: When a young woman in Frank's class, in the bloom of idealism and spirituality, asked him, "What did your experience in India teach you? What did you learn from that incredible country?", he replied, "Always drive six car lengths behind an elephant."From Pico Iyer, author of The Art of Stillness and Video Night in Kathmandu: "If you're married to a spy, the always fraught arena of a relationship turns into a positive minefield. What does that all-night absence mean? What can you begin to say to the kids? In Six Car Lengths Behind an Elephant, Lillian McCloy gives us the story of a life spent around secret intelligence that is funny and charming and in every wonderful sense, deeply spooky. This is the story John le Carré keeps out of his gripping bestsellers."From Alan B. Trabue, CIA (Ret.), author of A Life of Lies and Spies: "We've all read the romanticized accounts of a CIA officer's life overseas. Rarely do we ever get to read about the spy's family. Six Car Lengths Behind an Elephant by Lillian McCloy is an engrossing, decades-long memoir of foreign life under deep cover for the CIA. McCloy reveals the intrigue, danger, and humor of clandestine life in her thoroughly entertaining account of a CIA family's nomadic lifestyle. Few living in the U.S. will ever encounter the unique trials and tribulations of the McCloy family, but what a fascinating read it is!"