Paul Spencer Sochaczewski (born August 1, 1947 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American-French writer, writing coach, conservationist and communications advisor to international non-governmental organizations. He lives in Geneva, Switzerland, and has lived and worked in more than 80 countries, including long stints in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. In 1992, Sochacazewski changed his name from Paul Spencer Wachtel to Paul Spencer Sochaczewski; he wrote about the name change for an article in the International Herald Tribune. Career Paul Sochaczewski graduated in 1969 from George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. with a degree in psychology. He served in the United States Peace Corps, 1969-1971, working as an education advisor in Sarawak, Malaysia. This exposure to Asia informed his writing and as a result most of his work has a Southeast Asian theme. He was a freelance journalist and creative director of J. Walter Thompson in Indonesia. He was founder and chairman of IGOLF-International Golf and Life Foundation, an international NGO which promoted environmental and social responsibility in the sport. As head of creative services at WWF-World Wide Fund for Nature, 1981-1994, he created international public awareness campaigns to protect rainforests, wetlands, plants and biological diversity; and managed the WWF Faith and Environment Network. From mid-1992 to mid-1993 he took a leave of absence from WWF to write articles on environmental problems in the Pacific for the Environment Program at the East-West Center in Honolulu. He then worked for ten years as global communications director of the International Osteoporosis Foundation. He has lived and worked in some 80 countries, speaks Bahasa Indonesia and French, and basic Thai. Affiliations: Fellow, Royal Geographical Society, member PEN International, member American Society of Journalists and Authors, IUCN-World Conservation Union commissions on protected areas and education. Writing Themes and style Several themes recur in Sochaczewski’s work. How arrogance and greed of power brokers in the capital cities of Asia leads to environmental destruction and cultural disruption. The process by which isolated communities adapt to life in a modern world. Our need/fear relationship with nature. The romance of the "hero's journey." Sochaczewski is particularly interested in Asian stories that defy western Cartesian logic. He writes about the love affair between the Sultan of Yogyakarta (Java) and the mystical Mermaid Queen. He explains why isolated Indian villagers are angry at the Monkey God Hanuman for not returning their sacred mountain. He investigates why Burmese generals use the perceived