SAD SPECIMENS FOR TEA is a heart-warming and life-affirming, first-hand story of a woman's international journey from childhood up to her fiftieth year. SAD SPECIMENS FOR TEA is a first-hand account of growing up between two world wars in America, then trying to raise a family overseas amidst misguided and havoc-making foreign policy. SAD SPECIMENS FOR TEA is a precious collection of letters written between 1928 and 1969 by Caroline "Nan" Chase to her mother, Constance C. Taintor.