“One of the most bonkers life stories I’ve read… It is a riveting read, one that conjures up a lost world of international bohemianism.” (Johanna Thomas-Corr, The Times)
“Vastly entertaining – and shocking.” (Catherine Taylor, Financial Times)
Following a successful writing career – which saw the Anglo-Guyanese London-born author publish 20 works of fiction, short stories and nonfiction, including the bestselling Keepers of the House, Hacienda and The Slow Train to Milan – Lisa St Aubin de Terán retreated to a remote village in northern Mozambique: there she found her own African roots, founded a charity (The Terán Foundation) and confronted new challenges.
Much has been written about Lisa’s life and escapades with a trio of Venezuelan exiles, life on an Andean hacienda, her return to literary fame, and two decades living in a crumbling Umbrian palace. But despite all the attention surrounding her, she managed to hide much of her actual life.
Now, like the Japanese art of kintsugi, in this new memoir Lisa puts the shattered pieces of her life back together, filling in many of the dramatic, and often scandalous, gaps. While her life has been said to be stranger than fiction, it is fiction that has kept her afloat. This autobiography sets the record straight and shows a writer who for over half a century has enjoyed following her dreams, even when those dreams outdistanced her reach.
Following a successful writing career – which saw the Anglo-Guyanese London-born author publish 20 works of fiction, short stories and nonfiction, including the bestselling Keepers of the House, Hacienda and The Slow Train to Milan – Lisa St Aubin de Terán retreated to a remote village in northern Mozambique: there she found her own African roots, founded a charity (The Terán Foundation) and confronted new challenges.
Much has been written about Lisa’s life and escapades with a trio of Venezuelan exiles, life on an Andean hacienda, her return to literary fame, and two decades living in a crumbling Umbrian palace. But despite all the attention surrounding her, she managed to hide much of her actual life.
Now, like the Japanese art of kintsugi, in this new memoir Lisa puts the shattered pieces of her life back together, filling in many of the dramatic, and often scandalous, gaps. While her life has been said to be stranger than fiction, it is fiction that has kept her afloat. This autobiography sets the record straight and shows a writer who for over half a century has enjoyed following her dreams, even when those dreams outdistanced her reach.
“One of the most bonkers life stories I’ve read… It is a riveting read, one that conjures up a lost world of international bohemianism.” (Johanna Thomas-Corr, The Times)
“Vastly entertaining – and shocking.” (Catherine Taylor, Financial Times)