This Messy Mobile Life: How a Mola Can Help Globally Mobile Families Create a Life by Design

by Mariam Navaid Ottimofiore

Do your family dinners happen in more than one language? Do you celebrate Christmas and Eid? Do you and your family feel at home in more than one country? If so, then you may be a MOLA Family and yes, this multicultural, multilingual, mobile life can get a little ‘messy.’ In South America, a mola is a shirt made from intricately stitched layers of patterns and cloth. Worn with pride, it represents who you are – inside and out. Mariam Ottimofiore presents a mola as the perfect metaphor for globally mobile families living between cultures, countries, languages, nationalities, identities and homes, who find their story hard to articulate. She has created the MOLA tool to help global families design and show their stories to the world. This is your ‘life by design.’ Pakistan-born Mariam is a writer, researcher and expatriate family specialist who grew up and lived in nine countries. Her husband is German/Italian and together they have raised their children in Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Raw, honest, inspiring and uplifting, This Messy Mobile Life comprises personal reflection, expert advice and survey research to help you take your global family from mess to mola.

298 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 19, 2019

Reviews

[Liam Brennan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book about international life packed full of humour, revelation and solid advice.

[Marta Płonek · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I reached for this book I expected to read an international expat life-story. Instead, this is a guide on how to be a successful international family, tackling several limitations and challenges of the expat life, which was based on a 2018 survey. I enjoyed the idea, the approach and the sharing of personal stories. I would’ve loved to read more of the author’s own story, which I found extremely interesting. Many of the other shared stories (of other internationals) in the book lacked depth, and I found some problems were mentioned but not discussed comprehensively. I found some expert suggestions by the end of the book were mundane and repetitive.
This is a good guide for families considering relocating or in the process of doing so. Its a celebration of internationals and touches on some of the most common issues they face.

[Helen Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the way Mariam tacked this subject. The topic might be messy but her delivery certainly isn't. The book's easy-flow framework makes the reader's experience user-friendly. It is a valuable reference for all global families.