10 Countries, 10 Women, 10 Lives

By Christelle Esposito

10 Countries, 10 Women, 10 Lives is an inspiring and strong recital of true-life stories from women around the world who have overcome adversity and achieved success. From the United States to India, from Europe to Australia, these stories offer diverse perspectives and showcase the resilience and courage of women in the face of challenges.Readers will be inspired by these women’s personal growth and empowerment, and gain insight into the importance of diversity and inclusion. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking inspiration and a global perspective on women's stories of triumph over obstacles.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brown Dog Books
• Release date: May 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9781839526527

Book preview

PREFACE

We strongly believe that Everyone Has A Story even if the person concerned believes that it is not particularly interesting or amazing from their point of view. We want to prove that these stories collected from many corners of the world are valuable and are fascinating.

So, one day whilst chatting together on the terrace in France under the warm soft evening sunshine the outline of this book came into shape and made sense.

We were discussing various women we knew, the hardships that they had been through and above all, how they came through adversity to shine again.

We may be in 2023, but how women are perceived in today’s society needs to be changed. We all have a story that we would like to talk about.

This is a project that is very close to our hearts: that is to say; to write a book about extraordinary women.

Many women believe that they are not worth much … we would like to break this preconceived idea that numerous women may have due to the circumstances in which they have lived or been forced to live through. These are also accounts of different types of lives, some with major difficulties, others with none. But that does not make their lives any less interesting!

This fabulous adventure covering many countries and continents … Peru, Canada, Italy, Belgium, India, the USA, England, Australia, Costa Rica, France …

What we can ascertain is that whatever type of society these women come from, the problems and adversities that they encounter remain the same.

We sincerely hope that you enjoy reading these very different individual stories that touch the heart and show us how strong women can be.

We also dedicate this book to all women who have been made to believe they are worth nothing.

Christelle and Emma

‘STRONG WOMEN ARE NOT SIMPLY BORN; THEY ARE MADE BY THE STORMS THEY WALK THROUGH!’.

Anonymous

CHAPTER ONE

What daughter Patricia says about her mother:

She is an extremely sensitive person. When we were able to get the COVID vaccine for her, she bought a bouquet of sunflowers, and came to the centre with them.

I said to her ‘Why did you bring these?’

Her reply was ‘Because I want to give this to the person who gives me the vaccine’.

Finally, after three hours of waiting, we got to the nurse and my mother gave her the bouquet. The nurse was shocked and said, ‘I love sunflowers’ and would you believe it, all her arm was tattooed with sunflowers.

Mum can be both fancy and humble. We walk to San Jose, and she buys something for breakfast, and she walks until she finds someone in the street, and she will sit with this homeless person and eat breakfast.

Kindness. That is our mother.

RECYCLING HOPES

San Jose, Costa Rica

PATRICIA

COSTA RICA

Name: Patricia Porrez Sanchez Date of Birth: 5 August 1953 Place of Birth: San Jose Nationality: Costa Rican

Who are you?

I am a teacher, a mother, and people also call me a ‘Mother of Mothers’. I am a very happy person; I always smile and have a lot of hope.

How would you describe your personality?

I never sit still and am never quiet: I am always very active … working, speaking and singing. I have to be doing something all the time. I am a busy person … I am dedicated to my kids and my grandkids and of course to the little girls who are pregnant, young mothers.

What are your strong points and your weak points?

My strongest point is that I always have happiness and hope with whatever happens. My weak point is that I am one of the best at crying ... I can shed man tears …!

What do you do in your free time?

I enjoy taking pictures, and apart from that, most of my free time is for my mum.

What are your talents?

My talents: I write poetry, I’m a good photographer, a good communicator and I can open my heart easily and sense people well. I have a lot of sensitivity.

Do you travel?

Yes. I have been in the USA, Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua, Guatemala. I went for the first time in a long time after COVID to Paris.

I love travelling around my country. I know every single little part of my country mainly the poor towns.

I love to visit people who have stories to tell. Meeting these people is the best kind of university … they don’t have material things, but they have spirit, faith and they trust you and they have a lot to give. One has a lot to learn from them.

What fashion times have you seen?

The 80s! I love the hats and the shoulder pads! Or open décolletage and bright colours. When I was a teenager, I made my own pants, or the A- line dresses and large skirts. One look

I remember and like is that of Jacqueline Kennedy’s fashion.

Another style that I love a lot was Lady Diana’s style. I also love maxi dresses and in general I have always been charmed and fascinated by fashion.

Have you any pets?

Yes, Tango, a dog. A boy. He is 15 years old, and he is very sweet and now walks slowly and comes to me every morning to wake me up.

How was your childhood?

My father made me dreamer that I am. I was the only girl, with three brothers.

My father always wanted to have a daughter. I was the last child born and he related to me that he was the happiest father in the country and that I was going to be someone important, as important as I was for him.

The first thing to understand to be a good person, is to be honest, respectful and smiling. He always had good humour; I got that from him too. He taught me to be a good worker, to do things to help people, to share and to do it not expecting anything back.

Where did you study?

In San Jose, Costa Rica and I went to public school and then I continued high school in two different schools; the first three years in Maria Auxiliadora and I graduated in San Jose.

My father took me to all my schools every single day. He always had time for me.

He was always so pleased to give us everything we needed.

From my mother, I understood that nature is so beautiful, so she taught us to love it, love flowers, birds, sunsets and sunrises which are a beautiful part of nature. One of her pleasures was to read with us every day. We gathered every afternoon we made jokes, we laughed, but we had to read a little bit and she asked us questions about what we read.

My mother’s parents died when she was 11, so she learnt the value of everything quickly, and to face life very early at such a young age. She learnt to be organised, a good reader, and she cleaned her relatives’ houses to help. But she understood that she should help her relatives and was thankful for what they did to help her too.

Is religion important to you?

Religion is very important to me. I believe that whatever I do comes from another higher power. I believe in this, and I call it God. I am Catholic, but I don’t necessarily go to church all the time.

I have respect and I love to trust that someone higher gave me the sensitivity to love and understand.

Where were you born?

In San Jose, in Central America. On 5 August 1953. On a Tuesday, in the morning.

Do you have any family traditions?

I have many traditions: for example, going to church before COVID, I tried to attend any church, and to put it to practice.

Another tradition is to celebrate Mother’s Day, Christmas Day, Valentine’s Day, every birthday, Thanksgiving and Holy Week. For each one of those, I prepare decorations, prepare flower arrangements and decorate the house.

We are together as a family, and we keep the tradition of all of this and the special food that we eat for each occasion. We can have turkey for Thanksgiving, and we have good salads, special meats and we BBQ a lot as well. We cook chicken a lot in a fancy way for that day.

What pushed you to be where you are today?

My husband and I had bought a house, but the phone installation did not work. So, I went to a telephone box as of course, in those days we didn’t have cell phones. When I got to the phone box a little girl was crying and talking to someone about her pregnancy. I was shocked and said to her, ‘it’s not possible at your age!’ It impacted me, ‘why, you are too small, how old are you?’ She cried, ‘I am nine years old. My mum went to the USA to work to earn money, but she was killed in the states. My