A Child in Paradise: A Memoir

(Paperback)

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A Child in Paradise is a captivating and enlightening story that embraces the essence of human emotions: the joy of childhood, sadness and rejection, the celebration of simple things, a sense of religion and history and a love betrayed and conquered. All of this set against a landscape that seemed magical through the eyes of a child. Her adventures and curious nature gave her the knowledge to learn, accept and cherish places outside of her homeland and to hold dear relationships that went beyond friends and family. She was ready to face a world the way life presented itself to her.The years took her farther from her simple beginnings to a discovery of a world of travel, career, independence and many possibilities. With what she has achieved, she remains humbled and filled with a sense of gratitude.LL Starr's personal conflict and emotional discord ultimately led her to a place where she was compelled to search deep within her soul to find the courage to set herself free and to support those that matter most.In her memory, as she continues her life's journey, she will always have her "Paradise" of beauty, simplicity and unadulterated existence. It is something special that she shares and passes on to the generations that come after her.

Author Bio

LL Starr was born in 1947 in the southern part of the Philippines. The island of Basilan was her childhood paradise where she spent the first 15 years of her life. In 1963, the family relocated to Zamboanga, the City of Flowers, where she started her college years at the A.E. Colleges and studied to be a teacher majoring in physical education. Seeking to further her studies in that field, she moved to Manila and enrolled at the Philippine Women's University. While there, she joined the Philippine Dance Company and traveled around the Philippines and other Asian countries until 1971. She left the dance company to join the D.A. Development Corporation in Manila and was sent to the US to be trained in bakery management and supervision. Upon completion of her training, she spent a couple of weeks touring major cities in the UK, France and Italy before returning to Manila and started working in the bakery division as an Assistant Manager.LL remained in that position until late 1973 when she returned to the US to marry Bob who she had met in New York while doing her training. They, along with her daughter Jennifer, settled in New Jersey. In 1979 she enrolled at Kean College in Union, NJ and, in 1982, acquired a B.A. degree in Interior Design. After graduation, she joined a couple of design studios and eventually started her own company.In 2002, Bob and LL relocated to San Clemente in Southern California. She continued her interior design business for a few years and retired in 2008. LL enjoys tennis, plays golf with Bob and friends and found a new passion in hiking and trekking both at home and foreign locales in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America.