News & Reviews

A Woman of Fortitude

by Rosemary Laird

NEWS

June 25th 2025 - Great News - The Haslemere Bookshop have ordered a copy of A Woman in Fortitude from Gardners which will be on the shelf in a couple of weeks. So good to have it available to buy in my home town of Haslemere. It can already be loaned from Haslemere Library where it is proving popular.

If you follow Instagram then you can hear and watch Rosemary Laird reading extracts from her book, A Woman of Fortitude.

Article in Haslemere Herald and Liphook Herald published on Saturday 7th June 2025

Reviews from Readers

This book was hard to put down! Rosemary tells her story in such a warm, descriptive and honest way and it is peppered with humour along the ups and downs of her life. The book title is very apt as the author is certainly a brave and courageous lady! Very inspirational. Sian, Wales.
A very honest and authentic life story which would resonate with many women. Her sense of humour and resilience shine throughout her setbacks and adventures. Baring her deep feelings is brave and exceptional and her account is a source of inspiration. Dizzy, Cheshire

Excellent true-life story that every woman should read. The author is brave, with a wonderful sense of humour - I could not put this book down. Monique, Surrey

A gripping read! The author uses beautiful language to bring her adventures to life and transports the reader to many destinations. Her affinity and love for wildlife and the natural world is evidenced in her writing and decorates her varied and often exciting adventures. I found myself intrigued to discover what experiences awaited me in the next and subsequent chapters of the author's life. I enjoyed the nuggets of wisdom the author had gleaned from the reflections on her life and shares with the reader on the final pages of the book.
Mrs M F Frost

I enjoyed reading this fascinating true life story about the author's adventures of living an expatriate life and travelling the world. This amazing woman continually reinvents herself in a positive way when her life becomes challenging. It is also a story about love, hope, trust, forgiveness and the belief in ones' ability to carry on despite the difficulties. Anne, Somerset

A Woman of Fortitude is a good read. The author sees the funny side of life, even in difficult circumstances.

This is a book that reads like fiction! It's a remarkable story of incredible energetic achievement, resilience and optimism for a life to be lived to the full. A warm hearted real tale of physical and mental endurance. It left me feeling as if I'd actually almost lived some of the physical pursuits myself, so well were the author's numerous adventures described. I had many a giggle; I felt sad, happy and sometimes even exhausted. Ginny, West Sussex

A Woman of Fortitude review – The Table Read Magazine

In her captivating memoir, A Woman of Fortitude, Rosemary Laird invites readers into a life defined by resilience, reinvention, and an unwavering commitment to positivity. This global odyssey, told with wit, warmth, and unflinching honesty, traces Laird’s extraordinary journey through love, loss, and unexpected new beginnings. Spanning continents, careers, and personal challenges, this is not just a story of survival but a testament to the power of self-determination and optimism in the face of life’s unpredictable twists.

Laird’s vivid and humorous prose paints a rich tapestry of a life lived boldly across far-flung corners of the world. From raising a family in distant lands to navigating the emotional wreckage of betrayal, her story is one of perseverance without pretense. Each chapter pulls readers deeper into a narrative that feels both deeply personal and universally relatable, as Laird transforms adversity into opportunity with fierce resolve. Whether she’s hopping continents or rebuilding her life from scratch, her constant positive approach shines as the heartbeat of the memoir.

A Woman of Fortitude reviewed by The Book Network:

A Memoir of Grit, Grace, and Glorious Unpredictability.

Across England, Holland, Canada, Borneo, the United States, Malaysia and Brunei - through incredulous highs and crushing lows - this is the life of a woman bravely discovering who she really is. This absorbing memoir at times reads stranger than fiction. It is one of those rare stories that envelopes you so completely, you forget you're reading non-fiction. No, you're not watching this from the sidelines - you're in it with her, for the whole journey as it unfolds.

From the whimsical chaos of five-sister childhood in post-war England to the surreal, mud-bubbling landscapes of Iceland, the Texan heat of Dallas, and the intense solitude of starting over alone, Rosemary Laird's A Woman of Fortitude doesn't so much tell you a story as invite you to inhabit a full, fascination life. And what a life it is.

A quality which immediately enchanted me about the author is her ability to laugh at herself. There's an unexpected elegance to the way Laird turns the mirror gently on her own missteps - never fishing for sympathy, but somehow making you feel closer to her in every paragraph. Her humour is subtle but sophisticated, lace with a rare down-to-earthness that makes even her most exotic or painful experiences seem relatable. This is a woman who can burn her dreams of presenting children's television - and somehow have you laughing while she shares the ashes.

But don't let the warmth and wit distract you from the quiet power of her story. This is not just a book of adventures; it's a record of inner fortitude - the kind that isn't flashy but relentless. The kind that paints window frames one-handed while holding a crying baby. That finds courage to leave a failed marriage in a foreign land. Laird's strength is never self-agrandising - it's in the tone the rhythm, the way she moves through setbacks without bitterness and celebrates small joys like they're sacred.

Her writing is immediately inviting. Clear, conversational, and entirely without ego. She writes like a friend might tell you her life story over tea - full of vivid detail and unfiltered honesty. This is not a highlight real. This is the tapestry behind the scenes, woven with threads of courage, humour, and homespun wisdom. But what elevates this book above a typical memoir is her gift for reflection. She doesn't just tell you what happened - she shows you what it meant. What it taught her. How it shaped her.

Each chapter marks a new geographical and emotional landscape. There's the absurdity of being judged by a Dutch neighbour for owning too many decorative bottles. There's the heartbreak of a father leaving. The tension of a fire breaking out under the bonnet of a rental car after collecting a trunk from the airport containing their only belongings.

But this isn't just a memoir of adventure. It's a meditation on identity - who we are beyond our roles, beyond the expectations placed upon us, and how we find ourselves again and again as life insists we keep adapting. As a teacher, wife, mother, expat, divorcee, dater, and finally, a woman with nothing left to prove. Laird's journey is not one of reinvention, but of gentle, fierce reclamation.

One constant is the renewal: in friendships, in love, in unexpected invitations and strange jobs and the sheer miracle of surviving what felt like the undoing.

Laird writes with lovely trust in the reader - never overexplaining, never apologising. She doesn't wallow in the hard bits, but she doesn't airbrush them either. Her account of raising children while constantly moving between countries is both uplifting and real. There's no sugar-coating here - just perspective, sometimes hard-won. And then, right when you might catching your breath from an emotional turn, she hits you with a delightfully weird anecdote about camping in the snow or confusing dried Indonesian bean shoots for gelatin.

The memoir is at its most poignant when she touches on the unspoken griefs: the losses that didn't come with a funeral, the expectations that quietly died over time. But she's also endlessly generous with her joy - whether it's the glow of early romance, the magic of a Maldivian island beach, or the delights of a spring garden.

In the sense, A Woman of Fortitude feels not just like a story, but a companion. It's the kind that reminds you that you are not alone in your disappointments, your yearnings, your funny little failures. That other people have also packed up and moved their whole life at short notice, juggled babies in foreign countries and suffered heartbreak wondering how to start again.

If you've ever laughed in the middle of a mess and thought, "I'll tell this story one day" - you'll love this book. If you're craving a story with heart and soul, free of pretense and full of wisdom - you'll relish this book.

Rosemary Laird may not be a household name (yet), but this memoir proves she has lived more life than many of us ever will. And she's generous enough to share the journey with all its rich texture - the funny, the broken, the triumphant, and the unshakably human.