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A native of Wales, Cornfield catches the travel bug early via a school exchange trip to France. She continues to journey through life, countries, and careers, always the curious explorer seeking to manifest her dreams. Early jobs include a campsite courier in France, a British Air hostess, and a hotel receptionist. Then, coeliac (celiac) disease strikes, and she resolves to “never stop looking for the root cause of illness.” Unfortunately, it’s a bumpy process.
Expat life is hard, especially when married with three children. Moves to Australia, the Netherlands, Singapore, and Malaysia make it hard to shuffle family needs with her own quest for identity. Speaking from the heart, Cornfield shares her internal and external worlds, including the drag and strain of everyday details when living and working abroad, especially for a lonely, trailing spouse. The simple acts of securing housing, schools, friends, reliable help, and family stability are compounded. But with each obstacle (lack of internet connectivity, water problems, cultural differences, loss of self-purpose), she discovers hidden strengths and a love of learning that feeds her soul and “relentless search for fulfillment.”
The author’s narrative of manifesting dreams builds with deliberate steps and admirable tenacity. Do you have house problems in Singapore? Move to Malaysia. Has your husband lost his job? Get a new one in the Netherlands. Are you not satisfied with life? Explore the mind/body/spirit connection and become a yoga teacher and life coach, develop a writing career, and work with Families in Global Transition. Cultural and geographic details, raw emotion, and soul-baring honesty deliver a fascinating account of a woman’s journey back to herself. Each setback reveals her core of independence and joy, along with an uncanny ability to recognize pivotal moments in life. Her goal of helping and inspiring others, especially expats, is documented and achieved.