Chris Davies Curtis

Broschiertes Buch

My Life on Sark

Beschreibung

'My Life on Sark' combines two autobiographical books 'So You want to Live on Sark' and 'So you Returned to Sark.' In the first book Chris and Ken Davies give up their life in London, England where Ken was an advertising executive and Chris a district nurse. While on holiday on the tiny car-free feudal island of Sark, in the British Channel Isles, they buy a bungalow and two acres of land and move there in 1966. They open a guest house and eventually have a smallholding, with 200 hens, two goats, hives of bees, the lovable but fated donkey Pedro, two cats and Labradore Hugo. Through trial and error, they learn how to run a successful business,with amusing and sometimes nealy fatal experiences, as when Chris is trampled by a horse while pregnant. Chris also becomes the sole Island nurse, working with the only doctor and visiting patients by bicycle in all weathers. Following Chris' difficult pregnancy Chris and Ken take a break in New Zealand; moving there in 1979. Sadly they part in 1984 and Chris returns to Sark to live with the love of her life, Peter. 'So you Returned to Sark' tells of those very different years. Chris now enters into the social life of the island; founding a Garden walk sheme, which was to survive to this day, and becoming again the island's nurse. She now has more responsibility, sometimes acting as locum for the doctor overnight. She also trains as a hopeopath, combining traditional and complementay medicine in her 'Healthy Life Clinics.' There are many stories about her experiences, especially with the indiginous Sarkee residents, descended from old Normandy families, There is a sad end to Chris' happy time, when Peter becomes fatally ill, and all her strength and resilience is called upon. Both books are amply illustarted by the author, with fun sketches in the first book and attractive drawings and many black and white photos.

Autor

Chris Davies Curtis was born in Yorkshire England, and spent her school years in Stratford-upon-Avon with her parents and elder brother David. She then trained to be a registered nurse, meeting her future husband on a pony trekking holiday. She was a District Nurse in Islington, London for about four years until they decided to move to the feudal island of Sark in the British Channel Isles to open a Guest house, and eventually a smallholding of 200 hens, 3 goats, hives of bees, a donkey, cats and a dog. Chris also worked as a private District Nurse, often standing in as locum for the one doctor.After about seven years of running the guest house and smallholding they decided to explore New Zealand in a Bedford van for two years, taking young son Roy with them. Various jobs paid the way, including being matron of a small hospital, and working in a motel in the South Island, driving horses and carriages.They returned to Sark to lease their property and emigrate back to New Zealand, in 1969. Here Chris became a rural District Nurse in the Kumeu/ Muriwai area for seven years. Sadly the marriage ended and Chris returned to Sark, where she lived with a partner for 17 years, until she nursed him at home until he died of a brain tumour. She continued to work as a the Island Nurse and trained as a homeopath, holding 'Healthy Life Clinics' in Sark and Guernsey for 13 years.Eventually returning to New Zealand in 2009, to be near her son and family, Chris took a creative writing course with the NZ institute of Business Studies and so started her writing career. In her 4 memoirs 'So You Want to live on Sark,' she tells of the 7 first years on Sark: In 'From a Feudal Isle to Aotearoa,' the journey out by ship and 2 years touring NZ: in 'From Queen's Nurse to Godzone,' District Nursing in London in 1950s and NZ in 1970s; and 'So You Returned to Sark.' These are all illustrated by Chris. She has also learned to publish directly with Amazon's 'Print on Demand' service.Chris now also writes Nursing Romances for a UK company called 'People's Friend Pocket Novels,' using her own experiences as a student nurse and District nurse. They have accepted and published 4 so far.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Chris Davies Curtis
• Seitenzahl: 302
• Erscheinungstermin: 1. Dezember 2022
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 216mm x 140mm x 16mm
• Gewicht: 383g
• ISBN-13: 9780473661588
• ISBN-10: 0473661586
• Artikelnr.: 66795137