Mum's the Word, Paperback

When Kalyani Fernando boarded the SS Canberra bound for England, she promised her parents she would return once she had passed her nursing exams. Starting a new life in a new country was never her intention. She never dreamed that she would end up marrying the strange bespectacled man she had slapped for trying to kiss her, or that she would be stuck in England, consulting astrologers about her wayward daughter. She never imagined herself extolling the virtues of sperm donation or dancing on stage with a rock band at the age of 70. Mum's the Word charts the delightfully funny relationship between a Sri Lankan mother and her British-born daughter, both trying to live within a complex mix of cultures, customs and environment. At a time when nationality has such dark connotations, these stories humorously remind us that we are much more than our place of birth or what our passport says.