Before I Forget
My Life
by
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The reason that the author feels motivated to write her story is initially out of gratitude to her family and the joy of being able to share experiences. In doing so it also encourage others to see what is possible if one only try. Her story is not finished, it goes on but she reached a stage in her life (which is not in any means over) when she can look back and see the way she has come.
Her story begins by reflecting how her forward looking compassionate and caring grandparents and parents shaped her thinking, the role of mentorship and significant others who have encouraged her, helped by her perceptions and insights including sometimes facing and dealing with uncertainties and ambiguities when struggling and making decisions and trying to make a sense of the world/ path in front of her.
In attempting to write her journey she has not started with a ‘blank sheet’. Her passion for Geography, the natural world and photography have enable her to refer to documents of her travel experiences which she had written to herself and to professional authorities where appropriate. She was fortunate that a conscious effort was made throughout her life to detail and log notes, literature, letters, and photographs of specific life experiences. She therefore had a ready source of reference when coming to write this story.
In looking back she finds herself returning to her roots, particularly in the context of her own family described in the book. She is reminded of her indebtedness to her upbringing, of parents who nurtured in her a curiosity for life and a desire to learn. At the same time their encouragement in fostering determination, diligence and the need to strive for excellence has been with her all these years. This early preparation enabled her to achieve well educationally and so laid the foundations for success in her later professional life. It has prepared her to embrace life and wetted her desire to see the world and appreciate and understand the diversity of other cultures, including the historical, geographical and social aspects described in previous pages of the book.
She had the privilege to encounter in her journey, the young and old, poor , wealthy and the sick and wounded. She has learned from them all. They have left lasting impressions which have helped her with self compassion and compassion for others throughout her life. She believes that “Hope” is the key to her future, which she would never wish to lose sight.
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About the Book
This book, "Before I forget" is about one woman's journey from a developing country into the big,wide world. Inspired by her parents,she soon developed an interest in education and learning. She has made a conscious effort to systematically log her journey from the beginning and has written her account using documents of her travel experience and learning throughout life. Born to an elite family, yet the author believed that hard work contributed to some extent for achievement and success. Her journey takes her from the hills and valleys of Bandarawela Sri Lanka to other lands of exquisite beauty and those of extreme poverty.Her writing enables the common man to appreciate the socio-economic and cultural aspects of the populations in these countries. She presents an unbiased perception of the world around her. Taking every opportunity both in her profession and in her leisure activities, it is apparent that she has made full use of these. This book demonstrates the author's joy in sharing experiences. It brings home the value of education,life-long learning and sustained motivation despite difficulties.
The author strengthens the fact that family ties and roots are invaluable to one’s existence. This book is worth reading as it would inspire the common man to believe in himself.It would help those travellers reaching the west to believe that anything is possible if one would only try. It demonstrates to some extent that life is what one makes of it and being active participants, not passive passengers. This book informs that integration to the larger society, forming genuine friendships and respecting varying mentor relationships which may be key factors to the joy of living.
About the Author
Dr Ummanga Jolly was born in Sri Lanka. In 1961 she came to England and trained as a nurse at Hammersmith Hospital London,leaving there in 1964 with a State Registered Nurse Certificate and the Hospital Bronze Medal. She became a Registered Midwife in 1966 and gained experience in a variety of clinical settings.At the end of 1973 Ummanga obtained the Registered Clinical Nurse Teacher Certificate, Teachers' Certificate (Man), Diploma in Nursing (Lond) and Oncology Certificate. In 1977 she was awarded the Degree of Bachelor of Education (Man). In 1979 Ummanga became a Senior Tutor, completed a Masters in Education(Man) and moved on to be a Senior Tutor Post-Basic Education. She was appointed Senior Nurse Research and Development in 1983 and was awarded a Department of Health Scholarship to complete a PhD from the University of Durham in 1991. In the same year she was the National 3M HealthCare nominee and was appointed to the post of Quality Assurance and Standards officer.
Ummanga was awarded a Florence Nightingale Scholarship in 1990 to study the implementation of clinical nursing audit systems in the USA and Canada. In the year 2000,she was conferred a Fellowship of the Florence Nightingale Foundation for her commitment and determination to promote and achieve excellence in nursing practice. She is a Trustee of the Foundation (Executive Commmittee). Ummanga entered the Magistracy in 1995. She is the president of the Multiple Sclerosis Society (Preston and District). She is a keen writer of Technical books. She devotes her leisure time to her cats and has interest in travel, the natural world, photography and is a cricket enthusiast.She holds an Honours Degree in Law from the Open University England.