Two Suitcases E-Book

Martine Vanderheyden

• Herausgeber: Editions NAKUONA Forlag
• Kategorie: Sachliteratur, Reportagen, Biografien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 47

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

Martine Vanderheyden, 44 years old, left her native Belgium to live in Norway. Despite her French-speaking culture, despite the African origins passed on by her Rwandan mother, she does indeed feel Scandinavian at heart. Martine would like to write the sequel to «Une Aventure», her first autobiographical novel (Edilivre, 2016). From Norway, where she lives, she writes to her French friend to tell her of her intention. In the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, the letters that Anne and Martine exchange mix everyday life with memories of the dark years she has just lived through. Martine reveals, little by little, with modesty, the wounds she has suffered, her journey as a solo mum, but also the strenghts she has mobilized to rebuild herself. She came in Stavanger in 2006 to study a master degree in Special Needs Education and now works as a special needs teacher. Martine wrote her first autobiographical account in 2015, when, following an open-heart surgery, she came close to death. She wished to leave testimony to her three young children. Rescued, she then went trough a long dark period followed by an unexpected rebirth. In 2020, pregnant with her fourth child, she decides to take up her pen again and passes on her life experience, to reveal the emotions that accompanied her during her struggles.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Colophon

Title

Dedications

Brest, April 11, 2020

Sandnes, April 16, 2020

Brest, 5 May, 2020

Sandnes, 20 May, 2020

Brest, June 3, 2020

Sandnes, 11 June, 2020

Brest, 18 June, 2020

Sandnes, June 27, 2020

Kristiansand, Norway

Brest, July 13, 2020

Stavanger University Hospital, 26 July, 2020

About the Author

Two Suitcases

Joys and Misfortunes of a Single Mum

Copyright © 2022

Published by Éditions NAKUONA Forlag

Cover design by Ormstad Multimedia

Ebook created by Ormstad Multimedia

ISBN: 9788269277678

Legal deposit: January 2022

All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written consent from the author - Martine Vanderheyden - except in the instance of quotes for reviews.No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded, or distributed via the internet without the permission of the author and is a violation of the International copyright law, which subjects the violator to severe fines and imprisonment.This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, incidents, and places are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real except where noted, and authorised. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or actual events are entirely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or names featured are assumed to be the property of their respective owners and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used.

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TWO SUITCASES

Joys and Misfortunes of a Single Mum

Martine Vanderheyden

To my five favorite Vikings, and to the sweet memory of my older brother Patrick and my cousin Didier, forever with me…

Brest, April 11, 2020

Dear Martine,

Life is full of surprises.

As I receive your first message, sent from Norway where you now live, half of the world's population is under lockdown. This time is not the best to discover new horizons. Also, your mail contains the thought of a journey suddenly made possible. A snub at the coronavirus. When we spoke last Thursday, a bit of Norway came with you to my house in Brittany and a bit of Brittany came with me to your house in Norway. You told me about your children, your husband, your parents; about your emotions, your desire to write and your doubts. I told you a little about me too, about a friend, about writing of course, and what it allows, about our right to discuss feminism.

We decided, together, to continue these talks via letter. Like we used to do, before cheap phone calls, before SMS, Skype, WhatsApp or Facebook. You asked me to write the first one. Here it is.

I was happy to do so, enthusiastic, anticipating from these talks’ moments of collaboration full of sharing, of discoveries. Now it's your turn... I know that you have finally settled down, and I know how much you wish to write a sequel to “Une Aventure”, your first novel (you even chose me as your first reader). I am curious to know, among your abundant ideas, which ones you have chosen to start this new piece of writing.

With my dearest thoughts.

Anne

Sandnes, April 16, 2020

Dear Anne,

Thank you very much for your letter! Indeed, what a chance and privilege to be able to travel through our letters!

The day before we spoke on the phone, I was delighted to watch the program “Nos terres inconnues”, which took place on the island of Ouessant, in your magnificent Brittany. I can still feel the sea spray, the breathtaking landscapes, and the beautiful souls of its people.

My husband, who doesn't speak a word of French, also let himself be carried along to the last shots of this sublime televisual adventure.

This year, on December 30th to be more accurate, it will have been four years to the day since I settled down my two suitcases in my beloved adopted country, and this is permanently.

You see, I'm sure that my move to Norway is permanent. Because, as strange as it may seem, I never really managed to find my place in Belgium, my home country. It must be said that the traumatic events my children and I experienced there during our brief return in 2015 did not help.

However, I would be lying if I said that my life and my integration in Norway have been easy. On the contrary! Never have I had to fight so hard to enforce my right, my right to be a human being, unique, and as essential as any of us.

But deep inside, aren’t all these battles, often fought alone - which I'll tell you about later - what made me a true Norwegian by adoption? Anyway, I feel like that today. I feel Norwegian by adoption.

This country has deeply impacted me, you know, from my very first visit1- which lasted nine years after all. When I wanted to return to Belgium almost five years ago, I was not aware of the changes that Norwegian life had brought about in me, - both the woman and the mother I am.

However, this does not prevent me from holding on to my francophone roots, and from remaining forever deeply attached to Belgium, especially to my home region, so beautiful, that of the Eastern Cantons. But... I live without regrets!

Speak soon,

Martine

1 Martine VANDERHEYDEN, Une aventure, Edilivre-Aparis, 2016