Who says nobody could equally serve two masters at a time? A majority of people fanatically subscribe to this adage but not the second generation Filipino-Canadian banker Marie Claire Lim Moore who, during the entire period of her pregnancy, was still able to utilize her mental faculties to the hilt by documenting her childhood memoirs into what is now a popular Amazon.com 164-page best seller, Don’t Forget The Soap (And Other Reminders From My Fabulous Filipina Mother).
In the book, the 37-year old energetic career woman vividly recalled her memorable childhood while growing up in the busy metropolis of Vancouver, Canada. At the book launch at the Philippine Center in New York City she joyfully recounted the basic foundation and guiding inspirations that motivated her to write the book.
“I enjoyed writing all my life and wanted to document all the things I learned from my mom,” said Marie Claire who in her classic-cut red dress looked as fresh as if she just stepped out from the fashion page of a women’s magazine.
“There was an avalanche of worries crowding my mind especially during the early stage of my married life and when I was getting heavy with my child,” she said.
“I was confronted with questions like: How I wanted to raise my kids, how they are going to appreciate everything they have, how would I be able to balance my career and family life, and a lot more that oftentimes left me in a quandary,” she recalled.
“I certainly have fun writing it. The process went on smoothly as all materials that I needed from my personal experiences in the not-so-distant past profusely flowed back and provided the necessary facts and details to finish the book as scheduled. There was neither dragging one’s feet nor racing against the clock everything just came into place,” she said.
It started with just a simple plan. After gathering all the data, one name came dominant, somebody who was actually the main source of it all-. It was her Mom, Lenore Lim, an award-winning Fil-Canadian-American print maker. She, of a strong disciplinary trait but with gentle and caring words, was the one reason why Marie Claire was driven to finish the book.
The Honorable Consul General Mario Lopez De Leon Jr., one of the event’s guest speakers said, “It is indeed a great accomplishment for the Filipinos in the field of journalism to have Marie Claire Lim Moore’s name among established writers and book authors.”
“Her work is a result of a commendable upbringing by her parents, particularly her mom Lenore Lim, who tirelessly instilled in her the fundamental values of a true Filipina despite being raised in Canada and America,” the consul added.
“Don’t just judge the book by its cover. Don’t be misled by the pile of boxes on the cover for we don’t know what they contain, smuggled gold from the Philippines or something else,” joked Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations Libran Cabactulan when he took the podium, referring to Don’t Forget The Soap cover where a woman stands along a pile of balikbayan boxes.
“The book is a legacy not only for our children but for other parents, as well. It is a saga of a Filipino diaspora,” he added.
Don’t Forget The Soap, a first attempt in publication, was conceptualized and written while Marie Claire was waiting for the stork. Instead of staying idle and unproductive she diverted her excitement and enthusiasm into a more significant accomplishment. Thus, the birth of the book which is a collection of sentimental anecdotes from Marie Claire’s different life stages.
The daughter of Jose and Lenore Lim, Marie Claire was born on October 30, 1976 in Vancouver, Canada. She finished her secondary school from the United Nations International School and attended Yale University where she obtained her degree in Banking and Finance.
It was in her training as a Country Manager for CitiBank in Sao Paolo, Brazil where she met dashing Irish-American Alexander Quintin Moore, an MBA alumnus from Columbia University who worked in the Treasury of Citi. Their meeting was somewhat precipitous but candidly drawn by fate. Romance blossomed amid their career growth and started building future plans.
As expected, her ever-concerned Mom was a bit frantic about her daughter’s romantic status, but she did not meddle or do anything to that effect. She merely oriented her about the facts of life… about the dos and don’ts of being involved in such a relationship.
Married in Manila, they were both assigned in Singapore and blessed with two kids, Carlos and Isabel. The couple jointly enjoys the bliss of parenthood. Every single moment with the kids is something stress-relieving and emotionally fulfilling for both.
“Although parenting is a full time job that entails a lifetime responsibility, watching them grow offers immeasurable bliss. I could now feel the same way my Mom felt during times when I and my brother Justine were growing up.” Marie Claire said with a muted sigh.
There was a wide array of diverse customary practices Marie Claire greatly accumulated during her formative years. These include the ideas she learned while growing up in Vancouver, the multicultural influences she absorbed while in New York, the facts she gathered from her stint in Brazil, the seemingly familiar family setting she observed in Singapore. She incorporated them all with everything her mom taught her. Without any doubt, she could really come up with a voluminous assemblage of a genuine guide to attaining a near-perfect womanhood.
All these and much more have enormously induced Marie Claire’s innate essence of muliebrity. These surefire guidelines duly motivated her maternal responsibilities to her children and her unprecedented uxorial duties to her husband.
Children usually perceive constant mother talks and reminders to be merely annoying yaks which in today’s world almost considered dead and buried. Oftentimes mother’s words of wisdom would fell on deaf ears or being totally ignored only to realize that she’s right when already faced with dismal and compromising situations.
Marie Claire, in her utmost desire to rear her kids the same way she was raised, practically applied every single thing her Mom Lenore used to remind her. Ably enlightened by her wisdom and fortified by constant reminders from her fabulous Mom, how could Marie Claire go wrong in handling her day-to-day routine?
A tested number cruncher Marie Claire, in her full capacity as a young executive handling and managing the global client business for Citi in Asia and promoting foreign direct investments in the Philippines, incidentally, is also a guest contributor to Sassy Mama Singapore, an online Go-To Guide for modern-day mothers.
Hosted by her brother Justin, Don’t Forget The Soap book launch was one significant event attended by family members, friends, book collectors, and who’s who in the Filipino-American community.
For a bit of trivia: Marie Claire recalls her Mom serving them cookies for snack and then saving the tin container for her to use as a sewing box. That was one practical sense of austerity that Marie Claire tries to emulate now that she’s a mother, herself. Mother knows best! That’s exactly what the book’s gist is all about.
The book has impressively gained wide readership and acceptance and interestingly earned very flattering comments:
“…breezy and entertaining collection of stories easily relatable to all!”
“An engaging, entertaining memoir with plenty of useful advice along the way.”
“Prepare yourself for an inspiring and heartwarming read!”
“…unassuming and emotional, a cross-cultural experience.”
“Inspiring, funny, and a great read about two awesome women.”
Don’t Forget The Soap (And other reminders from my fabulous Filipina mother) has been ranked # 1 in Parenting and Adult-Child Relationships category and ranked # 11in Women’s Biographies List. Available at Barnes & Noble in Kindle Edition at Amazon.com and in paperback, the book is continuously hitting the best seller mark.
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