Catherine Berry

With both parents as teachers, Catherine’s future career was, at least in her mind, a foregone conclusion. Her long-suffering sisters, her early pupils, will attest to that. With school, university and teacher’s college behind her, she embarked on a journey which took her to Tasmania, country Victoria, France as an assistante and back to Melbourne, and gave her a strong case of wanderlust. It was not, as she had presumed, her Maths major that would open doors for her. It was her French. This took a back-seat when career and ambition took over, but with the birth of her own children, priorities changed. A plan to go and live in France gained momentum. "But you are in France, Madame" continues the story.

If you love France, reading about France, are curious about the lives of others or are planning your own trip to France, then this might just be the book for you.

February 2024 update: Three more memoirs have been added to Catherine's collection. "Weaving a French Life: An Australian story" was released in December 2020. As the title suggests, it fills in some of the back story to Catherine's passion for France. "Love, fear and a return to France" was released in July 2023 and is the third in her French series. "With bare feet and sandy toes: Growing up in Australia in the 1960s & 70s" takes her readers in a different direction. But, if you have found her because of a shared love for France, she'd love you to take a few more steps by her side.