Annette Allen
Annette
is half-English,
half-Norwegian
and lives
in south
east England,
with her
husband and
son. She
spent much
of her childhood
living out
of suitcases,
as the family
travelled
from place
to place,
following
her father’s
aeronautical
career. Most
of her childhood
was spent
in Africa:
Ethiopia
and South
Africa. When
she witnessed
the endemic
poverty in
these countries
and the brutality
of apartheid,
she developed
a strong
sense of
justice for
these people,
who had so
little, and
yet were
often happier
than we were,
with all
our material
possessions.
Her simple,
Christian
faith grew
from such
encounters.
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After
returning to
Britain in the
early 1970’s,
she moved into
corporate communications,
working for major
international
companies, including
McDonald’s,
BT and Diageo.
She won awards
for some of her
work, but as
she approached
40, life began
to seem increasingly
meaningless.
Everything changed
in 1992, when
she stopped work
to care for her
terminally ill
mother. Planning
ahead was futile:
every day was
precious. Annette
began to question
what life was
really all about.
In particular,
she was puzzled
by the three
clear dreams
she had between
1970 –
1973. Did these
foretell her
destiny?
Her
first book. “An
Ethiopian Odyssey”,
is about her
quest to find
nine classmates
from her schooldays
in Addis Ababa
in 1964, prompted
by another dream
in April 2000:
she’d returned
there to help
provide water.
Little did she
anticipate that
she would cross
three continents
to track them
down, helped
by kind strangers
around the world.
The quest finished
in February 2005,
at St. Paul’s
Chapel in New
York, the little
church of such
peace beside
Ground Zero.
The
book sold in
21 countries,
albeit small
quantities. Radio
interviews have
reached 15 million
people around
the world. She
is also the first
self published
author to give
a book talk at
the United Nations,
hosted by the
Ethiopian ambassador
to the UN –
a great honour
and amazing achievement
for a first-time
author. The book
and her searing
testimony about
our compassionate
mind and interconnectedness
has inspired
hundreds of people
and organisations
to donate to
WaterAid and
other NGOs who
provide life
changing, clean
water and sanitation
for the very
poor. (Half the
royalties go
to WaterAid in
Ethiopia.)
A former functioning alcoholic, Annette’s second book (being published in 2018) is about family addictions, showing how the present mirrors the past, unless we can remember our childhood pain. By totally accepting it, and introducing new habits, the past is healed, thus lifting the shame. Neuroscience, new rituals, and a supportive community of other recovering addicts and most of all, an awareness that we are each loved unconditionally as we are, no matter how broken we feel, will help most to recover - permanently. Half the royalties will go to help homeless people and the children of alcoholics. The book is dedicated to Eric, and everyone who never made it through……
Today, she helps others quit drinking and stay alcohol free, via a great online community: www.hellosundaymorning.org.
Annette Allen c 2017
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