Encounter - Ian Reilly

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Résumé :
A book you won't want to put down. When Ian and Heather leave Australia to teach in Samoa they expect hardship. They don't expect a devastating cyclone followed by the slow dismantling of everything they thought they understood about the world. Why are they being laughed at? Why is introducing someone offensive? What does respect look like? Navigating traditional Polynesian culture amid disaster, poverty and political tension, exposes their own cultural blind spots, assumptions and questions their deeply held beliefs. Good intentions are not enough. Join with them as they seek purpose and explore what justice, identity, faith and community mean in a radically different culture. Raw, honest and unexpectedly funny, Encounter immerses you in the lived reality of being an outsider - the exhaustion, the mistakes, the fear, the beauty and resilience of Pacific Island life and community. Moving with the pace of a thriller, Encounter's true story also wrestles with uncomfortable questions immigrants, travellers, and truth seekers know well: Where do I belong? Why am I here? Who am I when everything familiar is stripped away? Perfect for readers who love biographies and memoirs that transport you into another world, want to be challenged or need a page turner they can't put down....

Biographie:
Telling the story of ENCOUNTER has been on Ian Reilly's heart for more than 30 years, drawing on a lifetime of creative work as an innovative engineer, entrepreneur, teacher, visual artist, and poet. Born in Barcaldine, Queensland, and raised on a small sheep farm in rural Victoria, Ian studied engineering at the University of Melbourne before designing equipment for the Australian Army and volunteering as a science teacher in Samoa. He later completed a postgraduate degree in appropriate technology, focusing on renewable energy for developing countries. His cross-cultural experience fueled a career in international consulting and product innovation, developing world-first technologies for both startups and global corporations across Europe, North America, and Asia. In 2014, he founded the agri-tech startup Agersens, launching the world's first virtual fence for cattle, and exited the company in 2021 through its sale to Gallagher. Now retired, Ian devotes his time to writing, painting, and mentoring, creating portraits and landscapes in various media. A lifelong Christian, he worships with his wife Heather at Donvale Presbyterian Church in Melbourne, where they live and enjoy life with their two adult daughters, Rosemary and Elizabeth....

Sommaire:
Ian Reilly is an Australian author, artist, innovator and entrepreneur whose life has crossed cultures, classrooms and boardrooms, from remote Pacific villages to the Silicon Valley. Ian writes for people asking big questions, tired of curated lives and courageously abandoning certainty in the quest for purpose and hope.People who enjoy Encounter:Aid workers, volunteers and cross cultural workers seeking a relatable storyTravellers, backpackers or immigrants who find changing countries easy but belonging hard, who want to more deeply understand what a different culture and traditions, can teach usPeople hungry for truth, authenticity, and purposeBoarding a plane and heading overseas? Here's a gripping story you can't put down....