I started reading when I was seven, thanks to my father, who was an avid reader. When I was 13, I devoured the unabridged Gone With The Wind from page to page and every romantic paperbackwritten by Barbara Cartland and Denise Robins. I loved Agatha Christie’s who-dun-its, especially the inimitable Hercule Poirot. My brother and I would make fortnightly trips to our neighbourhood secondhand bookstore. For a mere 50 cents, we could borrow any book for 30 days. If we return it within 30 days, we would have 30 cents refunded!
At 14, I had my short story published in Singapore’s main daily,The Straits Times. I decided. I am going to build my career in books! But for a teenager in the 1970s, it doesn’t work that way! Mum told me sternly, “Finish your schooling, get a job, get married and have kids. Better have boys coz they will carry on the family line!”
So, at 18, I got a job as a general clerk in an accounting practice, met my husband at 21, got married at 24 and had three daughters (sorry, no boys!) by the time I was 31.
Pray, you might ask, why tell me the story of your life? Well, it would be the story of my life. What saved me, I believe, was this insatiable curiosity to live the life of the heroines I’ve read about or, if I could, be one myself! I started writing short stories.About falling in love, Singapore style! Heinemann picked it up and published it under their Writing in Asia series. Love Notes. My very first book!
Love Notes helped me land a job in Hofer Media, publisher of the Insight Guides series. I was an editorial assistant and I get to read all the travel guides they’ve produced!
Yes, my first published book would be one of the objects I value most, but I believe its true value is not in the book itself, but what it reflects of the society of my time. Who am I? In pragmatic Singapore, what role does romantic love play in a woman’s life? It was a question I tried to explore in my early days of fiction writing.
Fast forward to 2013. After 20 years in editorial and publishing, I decided I was going to write my memoir. The result: Love! Live Dangerously! And Have Fun! It took me three years to find the courage, one year to collect the memories, and six months to write the book.
What was I trying to achieve by writing my memoir? What was I trying to unearth? I wonder.
Prof John Carty mentioned the concept of ‘memory’ when he shared about the different artefacts in Netley. I do believe, in committing my memory to the written word, I leave a little legacy to my children and perhaps, my grandchildren! And what do I want to share? According to my subtitle: A Mother’s Lessons on Love, Hope, Loss and the Gifts of Life, this is what I’m writing about!
If I value Love Notes for my slightly-Pollyanna-ish concept of love in the 1990s, I’ve come to realise that my memoir serves a bigger purpose. Why not use my book to empower women to live a much fuller life?
What was I trying to achieve by writing my memoir? What was I trying to unearth? I wonder.
I’ve used my own life story in my workshops with cancer survivors, empty-nest women, and even men who have lost their purpose in life! Strange, the power of storytelling is at once emotional, therapeutic and connecting! Even stranger… I’ve figured out my life’s purpose in the middle of writing Love! Live Dangerously! And Have Fun!
Living a life that transcends my own. I’ve discovered it through the written word. And to me, this is my life’s most valuable object. The stories we tell.
