Michelle Vaid.com

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Michelle Vaid, a creator of various things, is a 50 year-old Londoner, living between Nottingham, Vienna and Sicily, who has lived in seven countries across the globe since 2010. A children's book author by chance, Michelle has travelled the world and collected memories, experiences and influences almost accidentally along the way. In fact, there is an irony to it all: never particularly drawn to adventure, independence or travelling, she somehow embarked on an unintentional journey that saw her living across the globe. What began without any grand plan became an epic adventure in itself. And, perhaps fittingly for a life shaped by unexpected turns, that journey eventually led to putting pen to paper. Her first children’s book, Mr Peter’s Adventures in Siracusa, grew from a simple observation in a cafe on day in Ortigia, Sicily, another seemingly ordinary moment that unexpectedly became the beginning of a story. It sparked her motivation to help families thrive after losing her own. One day, she watched a young couple trying to enjoy a meal together while keeping their child entertained. What should have been relaxed ‘us time’ gradually became a negotiation over who would watch him, as the cracks in their connection began to show. The scene stayed with her. Michelle wondered: what if one small book could give a child an adventure of their own, while giving parents meaningful time together, helping families stay connected and thrive?

The result is was interactive, space-saving book designed to encourage imagination, creativity, travel and curiosity. One, illustrative, bi-lingual book that can be read and re-read endless times. Alongside the adventure are gentle messages about gratitude, mindfulness and appreciating the world & people around us. The book also reflects Michelle’s belief in the importance of just trying in life with what you have, with her practical experience of connecting with all regardless of race, social class, age, culture or gender and navigating the world through basic everyday experiences woven into its concept.

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The story behind its author is perhaps even more unexpected.

Michelle struggled to read and write as a child and was not considered a capable student by mainstream education in London. Until around the age of eight, reading and writing were extremely difficult for her, almost impossible. Examinations became particularly difficult, with panic & anxiety sometimes making it impossible for her to demonstrate what she actually knew or even sit amongst other kids. Without family support or any educational system understanding she needed at the time, reading and writing were eventually self-taught even at times using tracing paper available in 1980s English school toilets to practise copying her letters. 'Written' off by mainstream education & living with undiagnosed complex PTSD (childhood trauma) and FND (functional neurological disorders) from a chaotic and violent childhood. Yet Michelle refused to let those early experiences determine what she was capable of achieving. Determined to one day become a PE teacher and support other people, she went on to self-fund university, gaining a degree, followed by a postgraduate qualification and, later in life, a English language qualification enabling her to teach foreign language learners and also other qualifications in applied neuroscience and sleep science. Her career has taken her from teaching nursery children to university students, and from classrooms to international business, healthcare & tech industry training. She became a Cambridge examination specialist, was voted the UK’s second-best trainer in healthcare, and has consulted across the globe. Once as a computer programmer in Mayfair London, Michelle created a basic video game using the interactive books from the 80’s that led to different endings, similarly to this creation. First in the series set, Mr Peter’s Adventures In Siracusa, has been created as an interactive, space saving book, designed to inspire kids and also adults wishing to learn English or Italian.

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Today, Michelle continues to create across disciplines. She writes blogs and books, develops bespoke business training programmes and websites, and runs an international book club. She works privately with clients from her applied neuroscience and sleep clinic, helping optimise nervous system function, sleep and performance across a diverse range of needs, from functional neurological disorders and complex trauma to performance optimisation of high-level musicians, artists, cabin crew and academics.

 

When not in the world of tech & quantum science, Michelle creates calligraphy in both English and Mandarin Chinese, coaching chess and can often be found analysing the night sky through her telescope, exploring constellations and the influential interaction of the cosmos, consciousness and one's individual journeys she encounters through her work for her clients. She volunteers her time to serving her love of nature & animals, especially birds. Living in simplicity having downsized, making personal and professional sacrifices to maintain her health, sleep, & inner peace. Living day by day, Michelle makes time daily to read a book a day, practice the harp and to be in both silence along with connecting randomly with people in her community wherever she may be. She has a natural ability to put people at ease, often drawing strangers into conversation and creating a sense of openness and connection within minutes. There is usually laughter, sometimes tears, and often an unexpectedly meaningful exchange - a reflection of her belief that no encounter is ever truly random and that we are a tribal species all in need of one another no matter one's social status.

Michelle’s strong love for and connection with children around the world has been a motivator throughout her life. She continues to involve kids when playing basketball or soccer alone wherever she lives, and has fostered children with disabilities through Barnardo’s UK, along with serving as Chief Analyst for UNICEF UK. From supporting young girls at Roedean School in England to inspiring children around the world to cook, explore mathematics, understand natures connection to science and the cosmos, create, rest, debate and develop emotional intelligence for better self-awareness, Michelle has always been fascinated by, and in awe of, the extraordinary world of young minds.

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The Adventures of Peter series brings many of those worlds together: education, travel, language, technology, creativity and the simple joy of getting lost in a good story, as is life, and is another way for Michelle to inspire young lives opening the imagination to possibility, encouraging the journey of discovery, and nurturing greater awareness of the world around them. It is, in many ways, a book about the things Michelle has always believed in most: finding your own way in life through the twists and turns, learning from 'mistakes', wrong turns, dead ends and 'failures', and having the courage to keep discovering what is possible for you. Because there is no single definition of 'success', it looks different in every family, culture and community. To her now, 'success' has not been the academic, social or professional achievements but something far more personal: that she has finally found inner peace beyond the societal expectations of status or wealth, and no matter what life takes or asks of her these days, she sleeps, thinks and acts with kindness to self and others...