TRIP TO NEW YORK, LONDON, SWITZERLAND, AND FRANCE

 

Our trip to New York, London, Switzerland, and France will remain forever etched in our memories.

View the video and get the book TRAVEL MEMOIRS WITH PICTURES  to read of our many other family trips and adventures.

Get it on Amazon. CLICK HERE

THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA

 

Pisa is a city in the Tuscany region of Central Italy straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. 

It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa.

My family and I visited Pisa in 2009.

My husband is standing holding his hands out.

Get my book Travel Memoirs with Pictures to read much more and see many places we have visited.

Get the book on Amazon.

A Dreamy Coffee Table Book of Travels

 

TRAVEL MEMOIRS WITH PICTURES: EXPLORING THE WORLD is a Dreamy Coffee Table Book to Inspire Your Summer Travels.
‘To where should we travel?’ is the number one question on everyone’s mind.
After many long months of lockdown without the opportunity to discover and explore new places, this book written by Author Brenda Mohammed can help you decide on destinations both near and far.
Travel Memoirs with Pictures: Exploring the World is a beautifully illustrated picture book filled with reflections of the author's travels around the world.
In this pictorial travel book of the author's priceless memories, she describes places visited and the wonderful times she and her family had on their tourist trips.
The book is great to read while on a vacation or for some travel inspiration.

GET THE BOOK ON AMAZON

 

MADRID, SPAIN

We flew with Iberia airlines to Madrid from Barcelona.

Stayed in the lovely city at Hotel Senator Espana Spa.

Visited a queen’s famous palace Plaza de la Almudena.

Toured the Santa Maria La Real Cathedral before dinner.

We visited several souvenir shops to buy gifts for the family.

Took an Express train to Toledo, a town famous for Spanish jewelry.

We watched as a guy made beautiful Damascene necklaces.

Purchased a few to give as gifts to friends and relatives.

Dinner that night at Cortes Ingles was delicious and satisfying.

Next day visited the Museum of Art to view beautiful paintings.

Life-like art by renowned artists lined the walls of the Museum.

Bought copies of masterpieces for framing in our homes.

Copyright@BrendaMohammed

GET MY BOOK - TRAVEL MEMOIRS WITH PICTURES. CLICK HERE

TRAVEL MEMOIRS - TRIP TO ROME

 

                           TRIP TO ROME
 

Rome is a city with a great deal of history.

Despite its beauty, it’s full of mystery.

The colosseum, a tourist site had its gory days.

Vatican City is a unique mini-state.

 

 

In 2009 Rome was part of our travels.

Toured the Vatican Museum and sat in the Sistine Chapel.

Walked through the Gallery of Tapestries.

Feasted our eyes on Michelangelo’s masterpieces.

 

The Belvedere Courtyard and other fabulous rooms

Were filled with paintings and art. I almost swooned

When we visited St. Peter’s Basilica we saw the catacombs.

Stood in awe when we saw St. Peter’s tomb.

 

Another interesting place was the Trevi Fountain.

The Spanish Steps and our trip to another fountain.

Occupied our days until it was time to move on.

Leaving behind the city of legendary palaces and museums.

Read more in my books Travel Memoirs, Treasured Memories and  Retirement is Fun, available on AMAZON. CLICK HERE

 

EXPERIENCE TRAVEL IN THE COMFORT OF YOUR HOME

 

Looking for Travel Ideas?

Travel Memoirs with Pictures: Exploring the World is a beautifully illustrated picture book filled with reflections of the author's travels around the world.

It is available in Kindle and Print Version in black and white and colour on Amazon.

In this pictorial travel book of the author's priceless memories, she describes places visited and the wonderful times she and her family had on their tourist trips.

The book is great to read while on a vacation or for some travel inspiration.

REVIEW

An informative and enjoyable book to read.

The author writes of her world travels with her family.

She shares her experiences with the reader.

You'll read of the various sites to see in each location, the restaurants with delicious foods, and which restaurants are more reasonable in cost and which more expensive.

She writes of the various ways to travel and of the climate of the location.

You read her travels to different locations in the world:

Paris, Germany, Amsterdam (Holland), New York (USA), Los Angeles, California(USA), Las Vegas, Nevada (USA), London (United Kingdom), Toronto (Canada), Colorado (USA), New Orleans (USA), Italy, Spain, Miami (USA), Orlando (USA), Caribbean Vacations, Anguilla, Puerto Rico, Caracas, Barbados, Cruise to the Bahamas, Cartegena, Cruise to Cozumel (Mexico), Trinidad and Tobago.

Nearing the end of her book she ends with a delightful poem of her travels.

This was a nice touch."

Get the book at these links

KINDLE VERSION CLICK HERE

PAPERBACK VERSION CLICK HERE

COLOUR EDITION CLICK HERE

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Write, Right and Mr. Wright

WRITE, RIGHT and MR. WRIGHT.

Write, Right and Mr. Wright.
Important words my life alight.
I’ll tell you all about them
In this unusual poem.

At school, I loved to write.
My teachers said I was very bright.
Graduated at sweet sixteen.
Started working when I was just a teen.

Mr. Wright said he was right,
When he employed me at the bank.
My performance was outstanding
And promotions he kept recommending.

Because of my love for writing.
I turned to Insurance Underwriting
Writing in every form and fashion.
Writing is my lifelong passion.

Obsessed with writing on every country.
Writing books and now poetry.
My Travel Memoirs attest to that.
Today I am promoting that fact.

Copyright@BrendaMohammed.

Book available on Amazon. CLICK HERE

Books containing my travel memoirs.

A Reviewer said about My Life as a Banker: "This might sound strange to say about a book with banker in the title, but the author demonstrates quite vividly that there are far more important things than money in life."

A Reviewer had this to say about Retirement is Fun.
"Such an enjoyable read!
Retirement Is Fun" is an enjoyable account of life after retirement, written by an amazing author, Brenda Mohammed.
Ms. Mohammed recounts in great detail her decision to embark on a totally new career, with its ensuing challenges and rewards, after retiring from a successful career in banking.
"Why not?" was her mental approach as she entered the world of insurance, quickly rising to the top of the profession as she continually worked tirelessly to increase her skills and abilities.
"Retirement Is Fun" is not only a testament to her success, but to her absolute enjoyment of life and everything it has to offer.
Ms. Mohammed writes about her professional successes, but also of her personal life.
The reader gets to know her extended family as they are such an integral part of her life.
She enjoys her family, travels often and extensively throughout the world, revels in her grandchildren and is a marvelous example of how much one can achieve in life."

Travel Memoirs with Pictures received many five-star reviews. Here is one.

A great and inspirational book!
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
Brenda Mohammed is an award-winning author who writes in many genres. While many people travel, few of us are capable of sharing our experience in a meaningful and relevant way with strangers. This author does a superb job.

Her book is very personal and one can feel as if a friend were relating her travel impressions and giving us her tips. Paradoxically, this personal and openly subjective touch makes the tips about restaurants and other commercial places for tourists sound less biased than a professional guidebook where it is often difficult to distinguish an honest review from a paid ad. In this book, we can read real first-hand accounts that are very precious to any explorers and travelers.

This book can inspire us when we plan our next vacation, it can also make us reflect on our own experience and realize what we might have missed when we visited a particular place, but it can also take us to places we do not have time or money to visit any time soon. It’s also interesting to read a short entry about places that we consider our home since we cannot always see what makes them special unless we step away and look at them from a distance through a tourist’s eyes.

I found it exciting to read about the places I visited and lived since the author has a keen eye and often notices thinks I don’t. But her chapter on Trinidad and Tobago, a place I have not been to, was probably the most interesting one to me. The author was born there and seems to know it very well. The ghost stories about the village of Lopinot make me want to visit and explore the place.
Katie

Follow Brenda on Amazon

Dancing around the World

Yes, I have danced in many parts of the world.
I mean dancing physically.
In both books, My Life as a Banker and Retirement is Fun I have described my adventures.
I was talking to my siblings and niece last night as we were discussing music, dancing, times, and places.
We played several songs and reminisced about old times.
Actually, we were selecting songs to play at my husband's birthday celebration later in the month.
It occurred to me that I had danced to some of those songs in different parts of the world.
I danced in Germany, Holland, London, Cirencester, Virginia, Los Angeles, Colorado, New Orleans, Barbados, and of course in my native country, Trinidad.
If I left out any places I am sure that you, my readers will discover them.

I have also published a book on my Travel Memoirs.
Travel Memoirs with Pictures: Exploring the World is a book filled with reflections of the author's travels around the world.
She relates the family adventures and treats readers to a pictorial travel book of priceless memories.
She describes places visited and the wonderful times she and her family had in their tourist trips, not only in words but with an amazing photo collection.
The book is great to read while on a vacation or for some travel inspiration.
REVIEW
An informative and enjoyable book to read. The author writes of her world travels with her family. She shares her experiences with the reader.
You'll read of the various sites to see in each location, the restaurants with delicious foods, and which restaurants are more reasonable in cost and which more expensive. She writes of the various ways to travel and of the climate of the location. You read her travels to different locations in the world:
Paris, Germany, Amsterdam (Holland), New York (USA), Los Angeles, California(USA), Las Vegas, Nevada (USA), London (United Kingdom), Toronto (Canada), Colorado (USA), New Orleans (USA), Italy, Spain, Miami (USA), Orlando (USA), Caribbean Vacations, Anguilla, Puerto Rico, Caracas, Barbados, Cruise to the Bahamas, Cartegena, Cruise to Cozumel (Mexico), Trinidad and Tobago.
Nearing the end of her book she ends with a delightful poem of her travels. This was a nice touch.
J.Calabrese


My books are available at Amazon Universal Link and Draft2Digital.

Travel Memoirs with Pictures - My visit to the Louvre, Paris

I love Paris.
We had no difficulty with the language as most people spoke English, and even when they spoke in French, my sister and her husband interpreted for us.
My sister and her husband are both Spanish Professors from Los Angeles, California and are proficient in all languages.
When we travel with them, we have no problem with the language of any country.
We queued up in very long lines for hours to visit the Louvre where we viewed many gorgeous paintings.
It was worth the wait.
Nowadays, magnificent art like those I saw in The Louvre is very rare.
The Louvre was a former palace of the Kings of France and is now the most famous museum in the world.
The paintings within are vast and are rich collections of ancient civilization, Islamic Art, and Western Art from the Middle Ages until 1848.
Thousands flocked to see the famous Mona Lisa painted by Leonardo da Vince and we were indeed lucky to get a glimpse of the most famous painting in the world.

The largest painting in the world, The Wedding Feast at Cana, was an amazing work of art, which occupied an entire wall.
Bible readers will know that at the wedding feast in Cana, Jesus performed his very first miracle of turning the water into wine. An Italian, Paolo Veronese was the artist.
It was impossible to get a shot of the full painting because it was extremely large.
Nevertheless, I did take a photograph.

My trip to Paris and many other exotic countries are recorded in my book, Travel Memoirs with Pictures.
Get it at Amazon Universal Link,

Before planning your next vacation read Travel Memoirs with Pictures.

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Travel Memoirs with Pictures: Exploring the World is a book filled with reflections of the author's travels around the world.
She relates the family adventures and treats readers to a pictorial travel book of priceless memories.
She describes places visited and the wonderful times she and her family had in their tourist trips, not only in words but with an amazing photo collection.
The book is great to read while on a vacation or for some travel inspiration.

WHAT REVIEWERS ARE SAYING ABOUT TRAVEL MEMOIRS WITH PICTURES

A great and inspirational book!

Brenda Mohammed is an award-winning author who writes in many genres. While many people travel, few of us are capable of sharing our experience in a meaningful and relevant way with strangers. This author does a superb job.

Her book is very personal and one can feel as if a friend were relating her travel impressions and giving us her tips. Paradoxically, this personal and openly subjective touch makes the tips about restaurants and other commercial places for tourists sound less biased than a professional guidebook where it is often difficult to distinguish an honest review from a paid ad. In this book, we can read real first-hand accounts that are very precious to any explorers and travelers.

This book can inspire us when we plan our next vacation, it can also make us reflect on our own experience and realize what we might have missed when we visited a particular place, but it can also take us to places we do not have time or money to visit anytime soon. It’s also interesting to read a short entry about places that we consider our home since we cannot always see what makes them special unless we step away and look at them from a distance through a tourist’s eyes.

I found it exciting to read about places I visited and lived since the author has a keen eye and often notices thinks I don’t. But her chapter on Trinidad and Tobago, a place I have not been to, was probably the most interesting one to me. The author was born there and seems to know it very well. The ghost stories about the village of Lopinot make me want to visit and explore the place.

Enjoyable Memoirs of Author's Travels

An informative and enjoyable book to read. The author writes of her world travels with her family. She shares her experiences with the reader.
You'll read of the various sites to see in each location, the restaurants with delicious foods, and which restaurants are more reasonable in cost and which more expensive. She writes of the various ways to travel and of the climate of the location. You read her travels to different locations in the world:
Paris, Germany, Amsterdam (Holland), New York (USA), Los Angeles, California(USA), Las Vegas, Nevada (USA), London (United Kingdom), Toronto (Canada), Colorado (USA), New Orleans (USA), Italy, Spain, Miami (USA), Orlando (USA), Caribbean Vacations, Anguilla, Puerto Rico, Caracas, Barbados, Cruise to the Bahamas, Cartegena, Cruise to Cozumel (Mexico), Trinidad and Tobago.
Nearing the end of her book she ends with a delightful poem of her travels. This was a nice touch!

Loved this travel memoir!
This is a great travel memoir. The author has been so many amazing places! I loved her descriptions of Spain and Italy – two of my favorite destinations. She also included some terrific pictures. A 5-star travel memoir!

This is a family travelogue – a day by day recounting of flights, hotel stays, restaurants, shopping and tourist sites that the author and her extended family have experienced over the years. And they’ve been to a lot of places, including Italy, Spain, various locations in the US and the Caribbean Islands, among others. There are many down to earth descriptions of what it’s like to travel, even including getting sick or getting overheated. There are cautionary tales about such things as wearing comfortable shoes while walking in Venice because of the uneven cobblestone streets and not expecting an elevator to take you back down the mountain and possibly damaging your knees going down 296 steps. One especially interesting anecdote involved eating at a restaurant in Venice, thinking they were getting a nice fish meal for only 6 Euro each when it turned out that price was PER GRAM of fish. Meaning the family ended up paying a small fortune for seven meals. And there’s the embarrassing story about how the fire alarm went off in a Miami hotel, everyone dashing down the stairs to the parking lot, only to discover it was a false alarm. And to discover belatedly that the author was wearing a sheer nightgown. Another cautionary tale, perhaps. The author also includes family photos from most of their many vacations.

Travel Memoirs With Pictures is the second travelogue I have read this year, and just like the other book, readers will find themselves treated to a pictorial story as they go along. Some books like these tend to be 'photo-heavy' and rather redundant with the actual test.

In other words, pretty pictures alone do not make for a great book. So it's with pleasure that this book gives us insight into many countries.

I paid particular regard to places I had been to before in this book, for example, places like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Italy, France (because I have been to these places before) and others.

Of the places I haven't yet been to, I would dearly love to go to Cartegena (in fact, thank you Author for putting this idea in my head!), but readers will have their own choices as they read the book.

Of course, the author has been to England and to my country's capital, London. As a national I must say that whilst London is definitely worth visiting, there are many gems in England that people don't know about. Aside from writing I do love to get out there and see what England....10 minutes drive in any direction from where I live, has to offer.

Travel Memoirs With Pictures offers readers a personal glance into one tourists view of many different places, and the different ways one can travel to them.

Recommended for anyone who has the travel bug!


This is a great way to learn about a real holiday/place experience.
Brenda Mohammed has such a personable way of describing her experiences from everything from restaurants, flights and hotels.
I enjoyed this very much and like all of her books, her natural style fully engaged me.
Very worthwhile and enjoyable.

A true travel memoir, which is filled with wonderful family memories anyone can appreciate. A fan of travel, the author takes us along on each trip as if we were right there with her. Great to read while on a vacation or when you just want to feel like you're on vacation.
Get the book at Amazon Universal Link.

Here is a Video Book Trailer.

Travel Memoirs - Visit to Florida

In July 2017, my husband and I flew from Trinidad to Florida to meet my daughter and her family for two weeks of sheer fun and adventure. It was not our first visit to Florida.
In fact, it had become an annual one. This time six members of our family drove in a rental van for four hours to Tampa. We stopped off in Naples to have a bite. If you are hungry, Taco Bell is the place to go.
Their tacos are tasty and quite filling. There is a wide variety to choose from and the service is excellent.
Our family booked two suites with pool and bay view at Sailport Waterfront Suites.
The suites had all amenities, and we were quite comfortable for the two nights we spent there.
The staff was quite friendly. Each suite was equipped with a lovely kitchenette, tea/coffee maker, sitting area with television, a spacious bedroom with lots of cupboard space, and a nice porch.

The view from our porch was awesome.

We enjoyed our stay there as it was close to the city and Busch Gardens was just twenty minutes away.
The hotel had exercise facilities too. We did not stay in the hotel much, however. We had dinner at the Bahama Breeze Restaurant, which was a few blocks away.

The purpose of the family’s trip to Tampa was to celebrate our granddaughter's birthday. She wanted to go to Bahama Breeze Restaurant for dinner.
It was a wonderful Caribbean Experience.
Although there were long lines to get in, we got a table within minutes.
The server, Mike, was very friendly and thoughtful. He explained the contents of each dish we ordered.
A live singer provided entertainment.
The atmosphere was very Caribbean and the meals were succulent.
We took pictures in the restaurant, outside the restaurant, and on the bay. We had a fabulous night.

Busch Gardens was only twenty minutes away and we could not visit Tampa and not go there.

It is an African-themed animal theme park on 335 acres.

Your family can experience the thrill of daring rides, inspiring shows, restaurants, shops, and games. The children loved it. Cheetah Hunt was the craziest roller coaster ride ever.

We also spent time with friends who lived close to the hotel before returning to my daughter’s home in Hollywood. On our way back to Hollywood, we had a delightful lunch at Cracker Barrel in Fort Myers. There was a variety store in the same building. My family and I enjoyed shopping during the time that we awaited our meal. One person sat at the table while others shopped. The meals were very delicious and the ambience great.

The next day my daughter took us to Lincoln Street on Miami Beach and after shopping, we had delicious pizzas at Pizza Rustica.
Another highlight of the trip to Florida was the exciting football match at Hard Rock Stadium - PSG versus Juventus.

Read all about my travels in my book, Travel Memoirs with Pictures - Exploring the World.

Body Holiday Experience in Saint Lucia

Twenty- five of us left Trinidad for an all-inclusive Body Holiday experience in Saint Lucia, and to celebrate the retirement of a close relative.
The flight was just one hour.
When we arrived at the George Charles Airport, friendly Immigration officers greeted us.
Some members of our group had already been cleared for entry into the island, so the Immigration officer already knew that we were part of the group.
He asked my husband and me, “Are you here for the big party?”
He stamped our passports and told us to have a wonderful time. When we stepped out of the airport after collecting our luggage two maxi taxis were waiting to take us to our destination.
They were very modern and comfortable taxis. The pleasant driver pointed out places of interest along the way and chatted with us.
When the taxis pulled up at the Body Holiday Resort and Spa, more friendly faces greeted us.
One gave each of us a wet towel to freshen up and another served us with refreshing drinks of spices.
They took our suitcases directly to our rooms so that we could be hands-free to stand and listen to a rundown of the hotel’s layout and activities. We were then escorted to our rooms.
Impressed is too mild a word to describe our feelings when we saw the beauty of the expansive hotel, grounds, and closeness to the beautiful beach. We were blown away.
I fell in love with the place.
The grounds were beautiful and well maintained, with winding paths surrounded by an abundance of exotic flowers and vegetation.
There is a long stretch of beach with turquoise water and it complements the beautiful backdrop of the hotel rooms and restaurants.
The different venues, which host the activities, are spread across acres of land.
The hotel rooms were spacious with all amenities.
There were no televisions as there was so much else to do at the resort.

I can only briefly describe the activities in which we were involved.
You had to be there to experience each moment, which went by too quickly for the short weekend we spent there.
Day 1
1. A fabulous tea in the tearoom. It was a place to gather and chat.
2.A Walk on the beautiful beach to take in the lovely view and surroundings.

3. Buffet Barbecue Dinner
4. Dance Party until the wee hours of the morning.

Day 2
1. Buffet Breakfast at Cariblue Windows Restaurant, an intimate restaurant with a vibrant and chic atmosphere.
It is located in front of tropical gardens and a beautiful ocean view
2. Shopping downtown.
3. A trip to the healing Sulphur Springs.The enthusiastic taxi driver gave us a tour of the island for 2 hours before arriving at the Springs where we spent only one hour. It took another two hours to get back to the hotel.
The driver explained that St Lucia has a population of only 170,000 people and their main income came from tourism and bananas.
4. Retirement dinner and dance party at Cariblue.
My husband fell ill after that five-hour trip and had his dinner in the hotel room.
When the thoughtful restaurant supervisor heard from me of his illness she sent him his food right away.

Day 3
1. Buffet Breakfast at Cariblue.
2. Massages at the Spa.
We were taken on a golf cart to the spa, which is a separate area on the resort.
There are in-house taxis to get there also.
3. Buffet lunch
4. Check out of the hotel, and back to the airport for our flight home.
Checking out of the hotel was just as easy as when we arrived.
Helpful bell boys took our luggage from the rooms and packed them in the taxi for us.


The weekend was too short but it was one of the most productive and wonderful weekends in my life.
St. Lucia is a lovely Island and the Body Holiday and Spa Resort is one of the many resorts there.
As I walked around the beach area, I saw people doing tai-chi at one end of the resort.
Some were playing tennis and beach volleyball.
Others were sitting on a flotation device while a friendly server swam out to take them drinks and a few others indulged in snorkeling.
There were even boat rides around the island.
Everyone greeted each other and the atmosphere was one of togetherness and friendliness.
Thanks to our niece, Andrea, for organizing this wonderful trip.
I am looking forward to spending an entire week there so that I can take part in many more activities.

Tips: Take along bug spray, as you will be in the middle of a rainforest.
Try not to go in rainy season as parts of the hotel are not covered and although umbrellas are provided the floor connecting areas can be slippery.

When Life throws you a lemon, make lemonade

Life is not always Wine and Roses.
When Life throws you a lemon, make Lemonade.
When one door closes, another opens.
In her memoir Retirement is Fun - A New Chapter, which is a sequel to her memoir My Life as a Banker - A Life Worth Living, Brenda describes her many wonderful experiences at the end of her banking career.

Her new job brought many opportunities to travel the world, have fun, and enjoy life.
She grasped opportunities as they fell in her path
Is your life over when you retire?
Brenda dispels that fear.
She proves that retirement is a time to enjoy life and earn too.
Despite facing many challenges such as cancer, deaths of loved ones, and an accident, which made her realize that life is very short, she triumphantly moves on to accomplish more.
Brenda increased her skills in areas she never thought possible.
Brenda has surely proven that when she retired from her first job she definitely did not retire from life.
For her, Retirement is indeed fun and she has written about her fun experiences in this personal memoir on Retirement.
Retirement is Fun: A new Chapter was a nominee in the Metamorph's Publishing Summer Indie Book Awards 2016 in the category Bio/Memoirs.
This is a book you would want to read.
Get it at AMAZON


For a Pictorial Travel Book of Travel Memories read Brenda's Travel Memoirs with Pictures: Exploring the World.

Travel Memoirs with Pictures: Exploring the World is a book filled with reflections of the author's travels around the world.
She relates the family adventures and treats readers to a pictorial travel book of priceless memories.
She describes places visited and the wonderful times she and her family had in their tourist trips, not only in words but with an amazing photo collection.
The book is great to read while on a vacation or for some travel inspiration,
Buy it at Amazon

Video Book Trailer - Souvenir of my Travels

Latest Five-star Review

Great
ByBookcollecteron May 3, 2017
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
This is a great way to learn about a real holiday/place experience. Brenda Mohammed has such a personable way of describing her experiences from everything from restaurants, flights, and hotels.

I enjoyed this very much and like all of her books, her natural style fully engaged me.
Very worthwhile and enjoyable.

P.S.

For thousands of qualifying books, your past, present, and future print-edition purchases now allow you to buy the Kindle edition for $2.99 or less.
Only books purchased online, sold and fulfilled by amazon.com qualify.

If you buy the print Edition of Travel Memoirs with Pictures, you get the Kindle Version FREE.

Check it out at Amazon Universal Link.

On Writing Memoirs

#PoweredByIndie

Brenda Mohammed is a multi-genre author living in Trinidad and Tobago who has now written and published fourteen books. Five of her books are memoirs and so we asked Brenda to share what instigated her journey to write such personal stories and share them with the world.

"When I retired from the Bank at an early age, I was depressed. Everyone in my family noticed that in the weeks leading up to my retirement that my demeanour had changed. I had ceased to be jovial and fun loving. My husband and my sisters did their best to brighten up my days and I managed to force a smile or a giggle to appease them, but no one realized that I was feeling as if I had come to the end of my life.

I went through the motions at the grand retirement party, which the bank staff hosted at a popular restaurant in South Trinidad. Customers and staff were present. The ambience was enchanting, and the speeches were great. Superiors, colleagues, customers, and staff showered me with praises and gifts. Their words brought tears to my eyes. However, all I could think about was, ‘What lies ahead for me?’

Fortunately, for me, my husband had planned a trip for both of us to attend a friend’s wedding in Virginia in the USA. We left the morning after the retirement party. All during the flight, I kept remembering the words of the many who spoke at the party. It all seemed like a dream.

When we arrived in Virginia, I felt relaxed. Virginia is remarkably beautiful. We had so much fun over the next three weeks that I forgot all about the bank.

We returned home after a glorious vacation. I gave away all of my working clothes as I felt that I no longer needed them. I decided to dabble in art. Out of nowhere, my talent for art surfaced and I painted several pieces, which I framed and hung in my library.

I applied for other jobs and received positive responses from many firms. I accepted a job in an Insurance Company, and of course had to buy a new wardrobe of clothes. Since I did not have to work full time, I needed something else to keep me busy.

It was then that I decided to write 'My Life as a Banker: A Life worth Living.' The book has been very popular with fellow bankers in Trinidad. I revised the book in 2014, published it on Amazon and Create Space, and donated copies to the National Library of Trinidad and Tobago, and my Alma Mater St. Augustine Girls’ High School.

My Life as a Banker: A Life worth Living @mirroe #YA https://t.co/iRi4vyNxLs Voted second in category bio/memoir for Metamorp #books 6 pic.twitter.com/As9QSGm0dy

— RGBookWorld (@RGBookWorld) October 8, 2016

Later on, I was having so much fun as a retiree, that I wrote, 'Retirement is Fun: A New Chapter.' Notwithstanding my bout with Cancer in 2005 and a terrible car accident, while vacationing in Miami in 2011, retirement has indeed been fun.

My recovery from cancer inspired me to write another memoir, 'I am Cancer Free.'
I am Cancer free was a winner in McGrath House Indie Book Awards 2016.

My career in the Insurance Industry was also successful. I qualified each year for membership in The Million Dollar Round Table [The Premier Association for Financial Professionals], and this gave me many opportunities to travel to different parts of the United States to attend conferences.

My frequent travels worldwide prompted me to write another memoir, Travel Memoirs with Pictures.

I was later inspired to write yet another memoir – 'Your Time is Now : A Time to be Born and a Time to die.' I had a driving force within me to write this one. The book explains it all.

Yet another memoir is my father's memoirs- Memoirs of Dr. Andrew Moonir Khan - A Great Educator in Trinidad and Tobago. I wrote that book a number of years after the death of my father. He was an educator and his story is very motivational. I gathered information from notes and diaries he kept and I put the book together. Past and present Presidents of Trinidad and Tobago have requested copies for their libraries.


Both 'My Life as a Banker: A Life worth Living' and 'Retirement is Fun: A New Chapter' were nominated in the Category Bio/Memoirs for Metamorph Publishing Summer Indie Book Awards 2016. 'My Life as a Banker: A Life worth Living' placed second in that category.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all my Facebook friends, family, former banking colleagues, and friends in Author groups, who all voted for my books.
Books are available at Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, and Create Space.