Lesley-Anne Mould
The inspiration for this novel came to Lesley-Anne when she
realised at her Father’s funeral that although she’d known him her whole life,
she’d never taken the time to ask him more about his life before she was
born. She resolved not to let the same
thing happen to her children, and that she would therefore tell the story of
how she was born in Brazil and grew up in Nigeria, Switzerland, boarding school,
Kenya, nursing, up to her marriage in 1979 and the birth of her two children.
The thread that weaves through and holds together the story
is Lesley’s volatile relationship with her mother, which stands in contrast to
her close relationship with her grandmother with which many people can
identify. This memoir serves as an
example for others to follow to leave as part of their legacy and share their
lives with their children and descendents before they’ve passed away and taken
their memories with them.
Lesley-Anne
Mould was born in Brazil,
has travelled extensively and now lives with her husband in England, in her
25th home.
After
boarding school she studied at Kianda
College in Nairobi, Kenya and went
on to work as a secretary at the University
of Nairobi.
She
became an RGN in 1975 and qualified as a theatre nurse in 1980 having worked in
numerous hospitals.
Craving
some stability after her nomadic childhood, she vowed that she would never
marry a man who travelled. That was not
to be. Since her marriage and the birth
of her two children she has continued to ride the global merry-go-round.
She
still has many unusual and amusing stories to tell and is contemplating writing
a sequel to A Moving Experience.
Although
Lesley-Anne enjoys living in the countryside with her many animals, she is imbued
with an insatiable wanderlust and knows that, one day, she will be moving on.
Her
destination remains a mystery.
"At 22 months I had to say ‘goodbye’ to all that was dear and
familiar to me. When Uncle Guilherme came
to wish us farewell he gave me a, much treasured to this day, gold christening
bracelet for I was to be baptised in England. It was all that I had of him and our parting
was heartbreaking and final.
I was also leaving behind my dear nanny, Mercis, who had taught me
my first words in Portuguese. She had
looked after me as well as any mother through good times and bad, through
sickness and in health and through my tantrums and my sulks. She knew
everything about me and she had, quite simply, always been there. She had played a pivotal and phenomenally important part in my formative years and
yet I was never to see her again."
