A WEST Belfast woman has released a book tracing her life journey between Belfast and the Netherlands and questioning the meaning of home.
Patricia Wilson grew up on Finaghy Road North and was just six years old when the Troubles broke out in 1969.
After meeting her future husband Edward whilst on holiday in Spain for her 20th birthday, Patricia soon got married and was Netherlands bound to set up a new life.
‘Finding My Way Back Home’ traces her journey from a close-knit Irish childhood through an unexpected romance, immigration to the Netherlands and the building of a life shaped by love, family, work and cultural differences.
The deeply personal memoir reflects on marriage, motherhood, loss, belonging and the resilience it takes to start over in a foreign land without losing yourself in the process.
Patricia wants her story to give a voice to anyone who has ever left home, built a new one and wondered where they really belong.
Speaking to the Andersonstown News, Patricia said: “I grew up here during the Troubles. I was six years old when they broke out. The Troubles didn’t define me but sort of made me who I am today.
“My generation simply got on with it.
“I always wanted to be a hairdresser. It was in the family.
“I met my husband in Spain. After three dates, we got engaged in Dublin. He was from the Netherlands and we got married. I moved over there in January 1983. I arrived with £2,000 and two suitcases.
“I got a job as a hairdresser. I didn’t have much of an education but I managed to learn the language within two months. Dutch people love the Irish and I was able to get more and more clients. I ended up teaching hairdressing out there.
“After five years out there, I had my first of three children.
“Throughout my time in the Netherlands, I never forgot home and where I came from. I came home around five times a year.
“I brought my children with me too each time and they spent some time at schools back home in Belfast. They all went on to get a good education and brilliant jobs.
“I opened my own hairdressing business in 1998. I had a good job, as did my husband.
“I got a Dutch passport which was a very long process. Looking back, I probably gave too much of myself to the Netherlands. The whole time I was living with a guilt of moving away from the Troubles to a better life.
“Every time I came home I was still in that life that I left, even though the conflict was over. It never left me. I was between two worlds.
“People who move away from home don’t always intend to stay there.”
In 2021, Patricia became a grandmother and first thought of writing a book to tell her grandchildren why she left Ireland, how much she enjoyed life but why things changed.
“I always loved talking and I do it a lot being a hairdresser. I always wanted to write a book ever since I was a little girl,” she added.
“It took me two-and-a-half years to write. I sought the help of close friend Wessel Ganzevoort to help me write it and I want to thank Greg McVicker and Mark Rickerby for making it happen.
“The cover is me returning home with the Black Mountain in the distance. I wanted to raise money for cancer and Alzheimer's research – two things that have plagued my family, as they have so many others.
“The book is also for my grandchildren to learn about my story and where I came from.
“Writing the book has been an amazing journey. I know my experiences have and are shared by many other people. Almost everyone who moves from one country to another faces the same issues I did.
“I would like to move back home one day. Maybe this book will help me find my way home.”
'Finding My Way Back Home' by Patricia Wilson is available to purchase on Amazon here.
