Follow My Heart

A series of negative events forces Frances to refocus on what she wants from life. Despite the risks, she sets off with hope in her heart to make a new life in France. What she finds is more than she imagined. Changing a life to this extent means there is no going back to a former life. Even her birthplace is irrevocably changed forever.

This book outlines how to dismantle a life in New Zealand and begin a new one at the other end of the earth. It's a story of hardships, loss, naivety, a search for love and belonging, with hope gluing it all together. Sometimes dark, sometimes hilarious, it's an honest and intimate insight into the realities and consequences of following your dream. It includes information on moving to France if you are not an EU citizen, negotiating French administrative processes, surviving French men and exploring one of the most fascinating countries in the world.

"I find the lengths to which you have gone to realize a dream fascinating. Although many people change countries, I don't think many do it under the risky circumstances you have found yourself in." – Warren Judd (former editor of New Zealand Geographic).

This is a very different 'take' on living the French dream compared to most titles in this genre. Follow My Heart is informative, gritty, cautionary yet inspirational.

This book appeals to a wide audience: dreamers who want to change their lives, people interested in France, as well as armchair travelers, anyone traveling to France, readers who like romantic novels, adventurers. It's also a useful tool for academic institutions offering courses in intercultural studies and communication. Readers of this book will want to be inspired, motivated, entertained, surprised and perhaps a little scared by the intensity of the twists of fate and events which wrap themselves around one ordinary older woman.

For dreamers, travelers, immigrants, romantics, students of inter-cultural studies, women and other adventurers. Contains photographs of France.