A Quick Chat with Horst and Isabel Cerni : Tom McDermott

Isabel and Horst at home, toasting his sister on her 80th birthday.

Isabel tells the story of her life, including the fun and challenges of raising a family in multiple countries in Donkey Years Ago, available on Amazon as a paperback or on Kindle.  Here is the article we published when the book came out earlier this year.  The book is now being translated in Spanish and should become available soon.

Horst tells his story in Journeying to Paradise (German edition  - Auf Suche Nach Einer Neuen Heimat)  - both editions  are available on Amazon as paperbacks or on Kindle.  Here is the article we published when the book came out in 2019,   Both the books by Isabel and Horst are included in the bibliography of works by UNICEF and XUNICEF authors.

Want to write the story of your life?   How do you move from wish to reality?  We came to two experts to find out.

Horst and Isabel Cerni are the first and so far only XUNICEF members to have written 'his and hers' companion collections of their life stories.  If you have not yet read the books, now is your chance to do so.  We hope their success will inspire you and your spouse to do something similar.  

In this Quick Chat the Cernis tell us how they decided to write their books.  They also give us tips and lessons learned in writing, publishing, and - in some cases - translating the text.  We also hear about their fascinating lives before, during and after UNICEF, and how they came to settle in St. Croix.

Perhaps the best introduction to St. Croix is the article Horst and Isabel contributed to News and Views last year, At Home in Paradise.  If you missed the article earlier, read (or re-read) it now and enjoy the lovely photos of a fascinating island.  (By the way, St. Croix is pronounced to sound like 'Saint Croy' and not as in French).  

Horst is a frequent contributor of articles, photos, and comments to our website.  You can find some of his articles here.

Horst and Isabel have twice hosted XUNICEF reunions. You can find photos of those reunions on our website - St. Croix 1999 and  St. Croix 2010  Don't forget that our whole collection of reunion photos is available on the sidebar of our website or by clicking here. 

Isabel's most recent book, I Am Who Am, is also available on Amazon.  An earlier unpublished book of Christmas stories will be available soon.  

Want to write that book? As Horst says, "If you have something to say, say it." - or in other words, "Just do it."