From Rome to Jerusalem

About the Book

A journal of the author's thoughts and experience of the Eastern Mediterranean countries she visited in the mid-1970's.

About the Author

Catherine Ann Slingerland was born into an upper middle class family on August 5, 1950 in Albany, New York. Two brothers were born in the following three years, and all were partly cared for by live-in nannies. Catherine was a tomboy who loved to observe nature in the woods and fields near the suburban family home, and in the mountains where she spent a few weeks each summer. From a very early age, disappointment, frustration, sadness, and a lack of empowerment marked turning points in Catherine’s childhood. She was a born optimist with a strong will to achieve the goals she set for herself, but ridicule and lack of encouragement eventually knocked her back to a point where she didn’t feel that she deserved success or happiness. Therefore, all of the life plans she had set for herself were laid by the wayside, one by one. Pursuit of a career that would give her pleasure was out of the question, and marriage to the man of her dreams was strongly discouraged and never realized. One week after receiving a degree in fine arts, Catherine began her travels. In 1977, a friend asked her where she would live if she had to live in one place for the rest of her life. She quickly thought of the South Pacific because it sounded exotic and peaceful. When her friend mentioned New Zealand, Catherine realized instantly that the country had been calling her for years. In 1985 she was sworn in as a citizen. Her two children, Zoey and Zakory, were born there, and after many moves they have finally settled in Christchurch, where Catherine hopes to relax and do a bit of writing about her travels and what she has learned from her experiences.