Would you drop your life to go work for oil-rich billionaires in their remote oasis?
At twenty-three, Lizzie Harwood is mysteriously recruited to become a property manager for billionaires. Legally forbidden to talk about her employers, she calls their country 'Xamnesia.' The place has its perks, such as receiving diamond watches and a hug from Michael Jackson, but with her anxiety about succeeding and habit of never telling her family what's really going on, Lizzie will do anything to keep this dream job. And with these bosses, that's one bad rabbit hole to fall into.
Will smuggling one million dollars be what snaps her out of her fog? Can she get her act together and quit Xamnesia for real?
A humorous travel memoir of a normal girl on a jet plane to self-destruction-land. With self-deprecating humor and total honesty, discover what working for oil-rich billionaires can do for your self-esteem... and your underwear.
Interview with the Author
Why did you write your life story?
I've never told this story to anyone, almost. So... certain chapters came as a huge shock to my mother and siblings. But... my life back in Xamnesia made me the person I am today. Many of us struggle in our twenties. We have energy and take chances, but it's also a struggle. I wanted to share my struggles in the hopes of making readers smile, wince, cringe, gasp, and knock over their cup of coffee or glass of wine... or forget to clear the cat litter.
Who would love reading Xamnesia?
Anyone who enjoys a bit of escapism... Anyone who loves to sit with a friend and drink too much wine or coffee and talk until your lips almost fall off... Anyone who likes to laugh and maybe cry a bit and feel like they're not alone.
It's also for people who love or aspire to travel, take a risk, and those who wonder if their family is weird.... And those who need to take stock of their underwear and get themselves some new lovely underwear because they've been undervaluing themselves (and their underwear). Not in a fetish way... (although those folks are welcome to read also).
Please note, this story contains adult themes and is not intended for juvenile or young adult readers.
Tell us, can you really not say which country Xamnesia is and which billionaires you worked for?
It doesn't matter where Xamnesia is - the Middle East, Moldavia, or Texas - it takes readers into a truly bizarre world full of excess and shopping and throwing money around. There are many places on earth with bosses like mine. I'm not saying we shouldn't go work for these people, but rather that I found working for them to be funny, funny-not-in-a-funny-way, exhausting, amazing, yet mainly weird.
Is this your first memoir?
Yes, but a follow-up to Xamnesia will appear in spring 2017. After living in Paris for 16 years and tackling motherhood and other insanity-inducing hijinks, I realized I don't need to work for billionaires to feel a sense of alienation from my real life sometimes! Who doesn't have that "imposter syndrome" at times and a sense of irreality to their real lives? My other books are women's fiction and suspense with strong female protagonists.
Tell us, can you really not say which country Xamnesia is and which billionaires you worked for?
It doesn't matter where Xamnesia is - the Middle East, Moldavia or Texas - it takes readers into a truly bizarre world full of excess and shares how I (like many twenty-somethings) put others before myself, and hid behind risk taking. It's meant to make you laugh, and wince, and be glad you didn't make such terrible life choices as I did in my twenties. And if you did, to feel like you're not the only one!! Email me if this story resonates with your own life. I'd love to hear from you.
Categories for Xamnesia:
humorous travel memoir
coming of age
new adult
solo travel adventure
New Zealand author
