Between Inca Walls
A Peace Corps Memoir
by Evelyn Kohl LaTorre


She Writes Press
Biographies & Memoirs
Pub Date 11 Aug 2020


I am reviewing a copy of Between Inca Walls through She Writes Press and Netgalley:




Evelyn is naive about life and love at twenty one. She was raised in a small Montana town, but at sixteen she and her devoutly Catholic family move to California. In California she is drawn to the Latino culture after working amongst the migrant workers. During the summer of her junior year in college, Evelyn travels to a small Mexican town to help set up a school and a library, an experience that whets her appetite for a life full of both purpose and adventure.




Evelyn joins the Peace Corps after graduation. Where she is sent to sent to perform community development work in a small mountain town in the Andes of Perú. It is there she and her roommate Marie, search for meaningful projects and adjust to living with few amenities. In eighteen months the two young women work in a hospital, start 4-H clubs, attend campesino meetings, and teach PE in a school with dirt floors. Evelyn is chosen queen of the local boys Highschool and despite being resolved to resist temptations, she falls in love with a University Student. As Evelyn comes of age she must choose between following the religious rules of her youth and giving in to her sexual desires.




I give Between Inca Walls Four out of five stars!




Happy Reading!

I really enjoyed this read. I travelled around Peru many years ago and fell in love with the people, the country, the lifestyle and the culture. So many people have so little but are so happy. I love the mix of beliefs and language, of old and of new. It's easy to see how Evelyn fell in love with the land and its people too. She is a compassionate and caring people. Doing good for others made sense to her. Evelyn had a Catholic upbringing in Montana and while Catholicism is practiced in Peru so too is the traditional faith of the Incas and many still pray to Paca Mama, to bless their relationship with the land for example. Evelyn really showed through her writing how much she got out of her travels. She drew me in so that I too fully appreciated all that she experienced. Her descriptions were vivid and comprehensive. She really did fall in love with her closen destinations. I give this memoir 3.5 stars

3.5 Stars

Thanks #netgalley #shewritespress for a complimentary e ARC of #betweenincawalls by Evelyn Kohl LaTorre. All opinions in this review are completely my own.

I love memoir because I enjoy learning how others choose to spend their one precious life.

Evelyn LaTorre and her family moved from Montana to California when she was sixteen and one summer working with migrant workers whets her appetite for a life of service and adventure. During college, she serves for a summer in Mexico helping to set up a school and establish a library. After college, she joins the #peacecorps and serves in a small mountain village in the Andes of Peru. She has many life-changing experiences, works hard, makes friends, and falls in love with a local university student. Because Evelyn is Catholic and has considered becoming a Nun, she is faced with a difficult life decision.

Through Evelyn’s experiences we learn about the challenges and rewards of serving in the Peace Corps as we also agonize with her about personal choices that will affect the rest of her life.

While reading Between Inca Walls, you will feel like you are reading Evelyn’s journal. I am impressed by the detailed notes she kept and I felt transported to Peru through her vivid descriptions. She is adventurous, determined, and brave!

I recommend Between Inca Walls for fans of memoir, for readers interested in Peru and/or the Peace Corps, and for those who enjoy reading about the unique experiences of others.

**I was provided a copy of this book from @netgalley in exchange for my honest review**

3.5/5 stars

Readers interested in Peru, Peace Corps, strong willed woman, friendship, developing relationships will enjoy this memoir.

Evelyn Kohl LaTorre shared a truly beautiful story of her time in the Peace Corps and her experiences certainly shared the importance of this work to her. Her willingness to share every aspect of her life -- from woes, to relationships, to triumphs -- made this a well-rounded memoir. I felt that I got a comprehensive understanding of what her life was like for the 2 years she was in Peru. I loved reading about her strong will and voice and that she did not let anyone, or anything, stand in her way of pursuing her dream.

At times I felt that her flashbacks to her younger life in the US growing up in Montana and moving to California were out of place and did not add to her Peace Corps experience, but she was always able to tie the lessons she learned to an experience she had in Peru. I would have also appreciated a faster pace through the chapters in order to move the retelling along, many things were provided in detail that could have been summed up in a shorter way without loosing the integrity of the story.

What a BEAUTIFULLY written memoir~
It is so rich in description of details that bring alive Evelyn's time and embracing all the new cultures while she was in the Peace Corp, This constant rich and fully developed description, made her experience so real for the reader! I found myself rooting so much for Evelyn through all the ups and downs. Such an inspiring story, especially for women!
I highly recommend this book!
I gave it, 5 Stars