MEMORIES and mosquitoes in the Maldives feature in the first book by a former Redditch midwife.
Maldives Musings is a collection of autobiographical newsletters and extracts from Liz Banks' diary, containing her personal views on life in a different culture.
The 60 year old decided to take the plunge and use her skills abroad in 1994 when she found herself alone after a divorce and her two grown-up sons had left home.
The book is a detailed description of her life in the Maldives as a midwife trainer with VSO, an international charity that works through volunteers.
She had worked previously as a midwife for Redditch and Bromsgrove health authorities.
In the two years she spent in the independent Islamic country, Ms Banks said she learned so much more than she had bargained for and had fulfilled her dream of working abroad.
Ms Banks, who now lives is Spain but still has strong ties with Redditch, said: "Despite the training, the reality of my new life came as a total shock.
"But I learned I could cope and even enjoyed being on my own for a fair amount of time."
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