Saturday, November 23, 2013

First Draft of Fuengsin's Biography

I'm pleased to report that the first draft of a biography for Fuengsin Trafford, my mother, has materialised! It has been a long journey that has involved quite a lot of fieldwork in Thailand exploring family heritage, carrying out interviews, learning about her alma mater and workplace. There have been documents to scan relating to her meditation background and back in the UK I've really only dipped into her personal diary of daily life in the UK. My Thai language skills are still rudimentary, but I've received excellent help and advice from friends and made use of some impressive translation tools.

All of this, with contributions from many people, has resulted in a life story in 15 chapters:

  • Chapter 1: Breaking New Ground
  • Chapter 2: Fuengsin’s Childhood: From Wartime to Roaming Free…
  • Chapter 3: University Days and a Carefree Life
  • Chapter 4: Early Professional Life: Teaching and Meditation
  • Chapter 5: First Time Abroad: Whirlwind Activities
  • Chapter 6: Life in the Outer Reaches
  • Chapter 7: Varied Fruitfulness in The Garden of England
  • Chapter 8: Thailand and other Family Outings
  • Chapter 9: New Prospects in the Midlands
  • Chapter 10: Emergence
  • Chapter 11: Further Visits to Thailand
  • Chapter 12: Flourishing
  • Chapter 13: Transition and Further Projects
  • Chapter 14: Faltering Health and Grand Finale
  • Chapter 15: Fuengsin’s Legacies

I have been contacting a few family members and friends to check the content for accuracy and general tone as there are many events and people mentioned in the various accounts. I'll then make some further revisions in light of their comments and afterwards seek some editorial guidance with a view to publication (I hope!)...

2 comments:

Patrick said...

Congratulations Paul on the first draft. I know what a journey it has been for you. Kind Regards.

Paul Trafford said...

Hello Patrick,

Thank you for your support. The journey is ongoing as there are some sources that I need to explore further, but there's already enough for publication.

- Paul.