Welcome to the September newsletter

My book is landing in bookshops in New Zealand which is very exciting. A big thank you to @nationwide.books for a job well done.

Being a Distance Grandparent - a Book for ALL Generations will feature in the
FIGT Australia/New Zealand Affiliate
Monday 13 September
​Six Author Online Seminar
​The book topics are diverse.
90 minutes
All welcome - FREE
For authors' bios, time zone info and to register click here.

Every month I devour numerous articles regarding mobility, transnational families and all things globalisation. I select just the best for my social media feeds and load those with longevity onto the website's Resources page.

My top picks this month are:
How Living Abroad Helps You Develop a Clearer Sense of Self
The evolution of global mobility
​
And I have written a couple of articles myself:
Distance Grandparenting and Ambiguous Loss
​Hats off to NZ Distance Grandparents - the Voice of Knowing

Global mobility human resources players admit little thought is given to their employees' wellbeing as members of a Distance Family: a role that never leaves their being even with job and career changes. COVID-19 has seriously disrupted 'doing' Distance Families and this affects employees' wellbeing. The Employee Mobility Institute (TEMI) is Australasia’s foremost community based network of Global Workforce Management professionals solely focused on supporting individuals and organisations develop, grow and strengthen their cross border talent management capabilities globally. TEMI wishes to bring Distance Families into the arena and I am proud to report I have been nominated for their 2021 TEMI Awards. 

On the domestic/NZ front one case of the Delta virus infiltrated the community and immediately the whole country went into a 'hard and fast' lockdown, and we're still there. In fairness we have had life sort of as normal since February. This drastic move is paying off as current new infections are all close household contacts and not unexpected. The numbers are going down, but there's still a few weeks to go before we can come out of our bubble. My email IN box is filling with cancellation messages - shows, holidays, choir concerts, dinners with friends etc. I would describe life as pretty vanilla but at least we're safe and well. So back to Zoom 'Drinks n Nibbles' and walks within 2 kms.

Back in March I submitted my Master's Distance Grandparenting thesis to the Expatriate Archive Centre based in the Netherlands, for a global competition recognising the importance of telling and recording expatriates' stories. I was pretty chuffed to wake up one morning to this news from Europe.

Take care and keep safe.
​Helen Ellis

Welcome to the August newsletter.

​July continued with much media activity and there is still more to come. I was privileged to participate in what’s considered in NZ ,the Holy Grail of new-author media opportunities – an interview with Kathryn Ryan on the Nine to Noon Radio NZ show. Kathryn is based in Wellington and I had to go to the Auckland studio. I don’t know if I was more nervous about securing entry to their building’s locked underground carpark and finding my allocated carpark, or the actual interview. Anyway, both went like clockwork and feedback has been positive.

​My book is now available in South Africa via Loot and TakeaLot. I have a deep compassion for South African Distance Families especially the folks back home.
Book reviews continue to be positive for which I am most grateful and my book in a recommend Top Five Books list for migrants moving to Australia.
I continue to add resources to DistanceFamilies.com. There are articles and helpful books to read, podcasts to listen to and videos to watch – pick what works for you.
You’ll find me on social media if that's your cup of tea. I treat each platform differently. There is some cross over of content, but much is personalised for each platform.
Right now I am making head roads into writing and researching Being a Distance Son or Daughter – a Book for ALL Generations. It will be published next year.

​I have noticed many distance families in the Northern Hemisphere reconnecting during your summer. This is wonderful to see. COVID-19 has forced us to be so grateful for physical family connections. We’ll never take them for granted again. Paula Span the Family writer for The New York Times collaborated with Emily Morgan from The Grand Life in an article about intergenerational family gatherings.

​When I was a university student I had the privilege of meeting Distinguished Professor Paul Spoonley. He presented me with a couple of awards which was nice when you are a mature student in a young people's world. His area of expertise is demographics, migration/emigration. He is cited in my book and when he kindly reviewed it he wrote... 

​Here he writes about NZ'S aging population. So much applies to other countries.

​Hubby has recovered well from his knee replacement. He then caught the flu and generously shared it with me. How kind.

I'm not particularly athletic but Saturdays you generally find me brushing off my walking/jogging shoes to participate in the local #ParkRun. Recent early starts have made for contrasting photos.

Thanks for reading. Catch you in September.
Kind regards

Helen Ellis