‘Lost at 15, Found at 50’ is a memoir of travel, trials and tribulations in foreign lands. From the Soviet Union’s Iron Curtain to Burma’s Bamboo Curtain, from Sikkim to Seoul, this memoir follows the journey of a young girl whose life was a cross-continental rollercoaster ride that soared and plunged from one country to another. By the time she was fifteen, Ashwini Devare had lived in six countries. Her globetrotting life, as the daughter of a Foreign Service officer continued when she became a career journalist, and her story culminates in the tropical foliage of Singapore.
With a front row seat to political developments and upheavals around the world, Devare chronicles a lifetime of nomadic living: Moscow at the height of the Cold War, a far-right Switzerland pushing to limit immigration, America mired in the Vietnam War, Sikkim in the midst of a pro-democracy movement that would overthrow the monarchy, India during turbulent times and South Korea, where student demonstrations convulsed the country
Lost at 15, Found at 50 is a vibrant reflection by a singular voice on adventure, identity and courage.
Ashwini Devare is an author and journalist. She is a former correspondent with BBC’s Asia Business Report and CNBC Asia. Ashwini has published two books, her latest ‘Lost at 15, Found at 50’ is a coming-of-age memoir that chronicles her journey from Moscow to Singapore. Her first book, Batik Rain, is a collection of short stories that received critical acclaim.
Ashwini has a Master’s degree in broadcast journalism from The American University in Washington DC and currently lives in Singapore.