Jeff Sheehan - Author "There Are No Foreign Lands"

Moorestown Rotary Club
Talk by Jeffrey A. Sheehan
On Thursday, September 10, 2026

The Distance Between the Heart and the Deed

 

Jeff Sheehan grew up in a small and isolated town in Western Massachusetts. His early years were quite conventional, but he soon perceived that there was too much distance between his heart and his deed. He decided to try to shorten this distance, and set off on a lifelong quest to learn how others had done so successfully. At the same time that he was shortening the distance between his heart and his deed, he was puzzled by the word “foreign.” From birth, Jeff had felt a kinship with all other humans, regardless of their race, color, creed, nationality, language, or culinary preferences. As a consequence, he conceived of a desire to explore this strange concept called “foreign,” and determine if there was any validity to it. His search took him to 85 countries on every continent except for Antarctica, and he learned a lot along the way. The tangible products of this very long journey are five books, all written after he turned 65, the first of which is entitled There Are No Foreign Lands.

Jeff’s talk will focus on this journey, and reveal some of the lessons he learned in unexpected locations from the most unlikely people.