Today, I have the honor of featuring Author Marie Claire Lim Moore for an Interview about her book Don't Forget the Soap!
Let's not dilly-dally, shall we?
Question: Most of the stories from your book were about experiences you had in connection with your parents’ reminders and lessons, I’m interested to know if you ever experienced something you consider a mistake and what that experience is?
Answer: There are 2 mistakes I’ve made that are never far from my mind. One of them I describe in the book about not taking the time to prepare for a big presentation. It sounds somewhat trivial but ultimately I lost a golden opportunity to make a strong impression on someone who would have been an amazing mentor and business sponsor. The other is related to remembering anyone who has touched your life. When I was studying abroad in Seville, Spain, my junior year in college, I became very good friends with my inter-cambio. An inter-cambio was a local Spanish student you were set up to meet weekly. You practiced Spanish, they practiced English. Her name was Salud and she was great. She and her family welcomed me into their home. They took me on their family trip to Portugal. Her younger sister, Puri, even made me a mix tape with all my favorite Spanish songs. When I got back to the US I got busy again with school, with life. I received a letter from Salud and planned to write back but kept procrastinating. I would have to carve out a lot of time to write the letter in Spanish so I would continue to put it off until I had more time. Months went by and soon enough I found myself too embarrassed by how much time had passed without me writing. I somehow convinced myself that she would probably just think I never got the letter. Things got lost all the time in the mail, right? Eventually the day came when I could no longer live with myself if I didn’t write the letter. Of course, by this time I could not find her address. (This was well before all our digital communications and files. My college Filofax was somewhere in storage and I had misplaced the envelope with her return address). Almost two decades later I still feel guilty about never getting back in touch with Salud.
Q: What lesson did you learn from such experience?
A: a) Don’t put off tomorrow what you can do today. I always try to send a thank you right away. b) It’s never too late.
Q: Did you tell your parents about such experience? What did they say about it?
A: Yes, they tell me I should still try to find her on Facebook. I’ve tried but for the life of me I can’t recall their family name.
Q: Let's go to another topic. I love how your Dad chose to make you look like an ugly dork rather than stand aside and let you entertain boys. Was there ever a time, in your teenage years, when you had a serious suitor who had enough courage to face your Dad?
A: In my senior year in high school I had my first “friend.” We continued seeing each other throughout college and he accompanied me to all our family events but my father never acknowledged him as my boyfriend, which did bother him, but there was never anything close to confrontation with my dad.
Q: How did that experience turn out for you? And given a chance, would you like to re-live it just for kicks?
Question: Most of the stories from your book were about experiences you had in connection with your parents’ reminders and lessons, I’m interested to know if you ever experienced something you consider a mistake and what that experience is?
Answer: There are 2 mistakes I’ve made that are never far from my mind. One of them I describe in the book about not taking the time to prepare for a big presentation. It sounds somewhat trivial but ultimately I lost a golden opportunity to make a strong impression on someone who would have been an amazing mentor and business sponsor. The other is related to remembering anyone who has touched your life. When I was studying abroad in Seville, Spain, my junior year in college, I became very good friends with my inter-cambio. An inter-cambio was a local Spanish student you were set up to meet weekly. You practiced Spanish, they practiced English. Her name was Salud and she was great. She and her family welcomed me into their home. They took me on their family trip to Portugal. Her younger sister, Puri, even made me a mix tape with all my favorite Spanish songs. When I got back to the US I got busy again with school, with life. I received a letter from Salud and planned to write back but kept procrastinating. I would have to carve out a lot of time to write the letter in Spanish so I would continue to put it off until I had more time. Months went by and soon enough I found myself too embarrassed by how much time had passed without me writing. I somehow convinced myself that she would probably just think I never got the letter. Things got lost all the time in the mail, right? Eventually the day came when I could no longer live with myself if I didn’t write the letter. Of course, by this time I could not find her address. (This was well before all our digital communications and files. My college Filofax was somewhere in storage and I had misplaced the envelope with her return address). Almost two decades later I still feel guilty about never getting back in touch with Salud.
Q: What lesson did you learn from such experience?
A: Yes, they tell me I should still try to find her on Facebook. I’ve tried but for the life of me I can’t recall their family name.
A: In my senior year in high school I had my first “friend.” We continued seeing each other throughout college and he accompanied me to all our family events but my father never acknowledged him as my boyfriend, which did bother him, but there was never anything close to confrontation with my dad.
Q: How did that experience turn out for you? And given a chance, would you like to re-live it just for kicks?
A: There’s so much of childhood – of my life -- I would love to re-live for kicks. I think that’s part of the reason I wrote the book!
Q: Lastly, thank you so much for sharing your story with us! What’s next in your career as an Author?
A: Most welcome. If we have a third baby I hope to write my next book on maternity leave! Kidding, sort of. It is hard to find time to write with my job at Citibank but I’m working on a few bylined articles to contribute to magazines / columns and constantly making notes that could be used for a next book.
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Author Profile:
Twitter: @MariClaireLM
Marie Claire Lim Moore is a Filipina-Canadian-American working mother and author of Don't Forget the Soap. After spending the early part of her childhood in Vancouver, Claire moved to New York City and attended the United Nations International School. She went on to study at Yale, climb the corporate ladder at Citi and travel around the world. She met her husband, Alex, while working in Sao Paulo, Brazil and they married in Manila, Philippines shortly before moving to Singapore. Now Mom to Carlos and Isabel, Claire also manages the Global Client business for Citi in Asia. She enjoys juggling career and family and likes to throw in community and politics for fun by campaigning for US political candidates, fundraising for organizations that advance the role of women in business and promoting foreign direct investment in the Philippines. She is also a guest contributor at Sassy Mama Singapore.
Links: Goodreads // Amazon
Book Info:
Marie Claire Lim Moore is a Filipina-Canadian-American working mother and author of Don't Forget the Soap. After spending the early part of her childhood in Vancouver, Claire moved to New York City and attended the United Nations International School. She went on to study at Yale, climb the corporate ladder at Citi and travel around the world. She met her husband, Alex, while working in Sao Paulo, Brazil and they married in Manila, Philippines shortly before moving to Singapore. Now Mom to Carlos and Isabel, Claire also manages the Global Client business for Citi in Asia. She enjoys juggling career and family and likes to throw in community and politics for fun by campaigning for US political candidates, fundraising for organizations that advance the role of women in business and promoting foreign direct investment in the Philippines. She is also a guest contributor at Sassy Mama Singapore.
Don't Forget the Soap
by Marie Claire Lim Moore
Non-Fiction, Autobiography, Memoir
Links: Goodreads // Amazon
Book Info:
At the center of many good stories – inspiring, entertaining, admittedly corny – is Marie Claire Lim Moore. Ask her about the time she and her family sat down with former Philippine President Corazon Aquino. Or the time she built houses in Mexico alongside former American President Jimmy Carter. Equally engaging are her every day experiences and perspective on life. You will be interested to hear what she thinks is a relationship “deal breaker” or why Christmas should be regulated or why kids shouldn’t say, “I’m bored.”
Don’t Forget the Soap is a collection of anecdotes from different points in Claire’s life: stories from the tight-knit Filipino community in Vancouver mix with memories of her move to New York, experiences at Yale and travels as a young executive. Underlying this narrative is the story of a global citizen who does not want to forget the fundamental values that come along with the “immigrant experience” as she and her husband raise their children in the increasingly glitzy expat bubble of Singapore. Her parents continue to remain a big influence in her life and her mother’s reminders a grounding force. These stories will warm the heart and resonate with people of any culture.
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