On Friday my first book – Dejlige Days – My Guide to a Successful Relocation – was available to buy on all the Amazon platforms (links here US, UK and Europe (Germany and France). I was sitting my  co working space when I got the news and I must admit I felt a little tearful. It was almost 5 years to the day since we had moved to Berlin, it felt right that this was the bookend to that.

This book has been in my mind for over four years and this year I finally pulled together all the chapters dotted around my hard drive and the yet unwritten ones in my brain. It’s not a huge tome but it covers all the things I have learned over the years of relocating to Denmark and Germany. Things I wish someone had told me and other things I realised I wish I had known. The book is personal and has a lot of me in it – it is my voice and my thoughts (as well as a chapter with advice from other expats). People who have read the sample chapters and the few people who read the full manuscript said that it was like a friend sharing their advice and thoughts through the page.

There are a two very personal chapters, one which I still feel emotional when I read it, where I share how I felt during the two major relocations and these stories feed into why I wrote this book. I will share an excerpt later in the week from the Berlin chapter.

The book aims to help people when they are right at the beginning of their relocation journey through the first six months to a year. My hope is that it is a book that readers can go back to when they reach different stages of their relocation for more advice and help. Even as a refresher if they are relocating again. It is a book for everyone but if I am honest it is a book that will help spouses more, especially in the stage of relocation when you have arrived in your new home.

It is also the time (in an Oscar speech kind of way) to thank everyone who has supported me through this writing journey. My family of course but without my close friend and mentor Janet Murray, it would still be sitting on my computer.

If you enjoy my blog, then this book will be for you. Happy reading.