Q: So why did I write this book? A: After moving from Australia to Dubai in 2007, I realised that life as we knew it was going to be very different. Weekly I would sit in front of my laptop emailing family and friends in England and Australia and keeping them up to date with what was happening. The emails were a way for me to off-load some of the frustrating and stressful situations we found ourselves in, and also share some of the funny, shocking and unbelievable happenings too. The first year passed by, the emails kept flowing, the recipients kept saying; "Hey this is great, you should write a book" "I live for the next installment" "You make my journey home on the train a better one, I just have to stop myself laughing out loud at times" People judged us, pressuming that tax free salaries, all year sunshine, maids, nannies and cleaners together with shopping malls to die for and hotels to take your breath away, meant that we should have no reason to be unhappy, and infact think ourselves lucky. What some failed to realise, is that choosing to better ourselves and provide for our children and their futures, we have sacrificed having our family and close friends being part of our day to day life, which is very important to both us and our children. Some people believed I 'could only' be making the stories up, and laughed! I had to remind them that despite being funny; this was actually our life and very real.