Never too late to make a new path

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A spectrum of individuals, ranging from common folks to big-name celebrities, have been featured in our write-ups to date, but never an international nomadic author. Writer Vicky Fong recently had the opportunity to interview writer Robyn Flemming, whose book “Skinful: A Memoir of Addiction”, which details her addictions ranging from wine to relationships, has received remarkable reviews.

A spectrum of individuals ranging from common folks to big name celebrities have been featured in our write-ups to date, but never an international nomadic author. This is our first interview with one, sharing views which could help others to perceive a new pathway in life.

Held in a reclusive corner of Telang Usan Hotel’s restaurant in Kuching, it was a comfortable meeting with this author of a book that has received remarkable reviews. Showing no writerly ego, she was friendly, and that put us both at ease.

Robyn Flemming is the author of “Skinful: A Memoir of Addiction”, a memoir of addictions ranging from wine to relationships with men who undervalued her. In the book, she shares how she sheds off her old skin to start a life afresh.

Published in Australia by Brio Books and in the United Kingdom by Lantern Publishing, it also highlights her journey of adventures from Australia to Europe, New York, Hong Kong and Morocco, as well as many other thrilling locations, before eventually discovering Kuching, Sarawak.

Her good capture of fishing boats in the Sarawak River.

Alcohol addiction is not a serious problem amongst women here in Borneo as Robyn was apprised by me, but it did not deter her from sharing her story, which touched on her dark days. Thankfully, there have been no more relapses. Currently in her New York base, this editor and writer is looking forward to her third visit to Sarawak.

Being the first woman traveller I have met who calls herself an ‘international nomad’, I asked if she could explain the term and backstory.

Robyn Flemming (RF): I first called myself a nomad in 2010, at the age of 57, when I left Australia with a suitcase, a laptop bag, and a one-way ticket to the world. As a freelance editor with clients in Australia and Asia, I could work as an “editor without borders” from anywhere I had internet access. I had sold my house, given away, stored, or sold my belongings, rehomed my two dogs, and lent the best of my art collection to a local art museum on long-term loan. I loved spending time in different places and had an instinct that the lifestyle of a permanent gypsy would fit me well.

Two other things were significant in my decision to cast myself adrift from Australian shores. First, I was a long-distance runner and was competitive in my age group. Entering races around the world would provide a “hook” to hang my travels on. Running would also be a way to meet people who shared that interest. Second, I had been struggling for two decades to manage a growing drinking problem. I hoped that the demands and risks of my new life would help me to quit drinking and embrace sobriety.

She was a global nomad from 2010 to 2020, until COVID-19 changed the world and made travel difficult and hazardous. By that time, she had a European base in Budapest, a North American base in New York City and an Asian base in Kuching, Sarawak.

In late March 2020, the forces that propel us into our future lives pulled her back to Australia, whose border clanged shut behind her on the morning her plane flew into Perth. In the next two years in her hometown in regional New South Wales, she completed her memoir, “Skinful”, and found a publisher.

Her book covers three decades: her life as an expat living in Hong Kong from 1986 to 1993; the years she spent living back in Australia, where she took up running and trekking and fell in love with dogs and photography; and her first five years as a digital nomad, including how she learnt to live life on life’s terms without needing to drink to numb emotional pain or to fill a void created by insufficient nurturing as a child.

When the world reopened in 2022, she took off again to become a nomad, but at 69 and with osteoporotic bones, her travel plans were not for running or trekking events. This time she has a book to share with readers around the world. She flew into Malaysia a few days after the country re-opened its borders, and we met for this interview in May this year.

Throughout her nomadic lifestyle, which city has fascinated her the most?

RF: Different places fascinate me for different reasons, and I have returned again and again to places that touched my heart in some way. Often, this was because of the friends I made and loved to spend time with in a variety of built environments and enjoy the different architectural styles.

In Kuching, in 2010, I soon met local people who were kind and friendly and keen to introduce me to Sarawak’s famous food culture. In New York, I joined running teams and soon had daily routines that included jogging at dawn around Central Park with new friends and competing in events with my fellow team members. After I stopped drinking in August 2011, I often attended recovery group meetings in New York, in Florence, Italy, in Ubud, Bali, and in Reykjavik, Iceland, where I made close friends.

When I resumed my travels this year, I wanted first to spend six weeks back in Sarawak. It had been my first main destination in 2010, and it seemed a fitting place to resume my travels 12 years later.

What inspired her to write this book and how can this book help women in our region?

RF: Skinful recounts how my choice to finally take responsibility for my life and to face up to my problem has been life-changing. I believe that a lot of people fear it is too late to change themselves. I went nomadic when I was 57, sober when I was 59, and will go nomadic again in the year I turn 70. My memoir shows that it is never too late to make a new path to a different future. It speaks to any reader — not just someone who is worried about their drinking — who has ever asked themselves: Who am I? What life do I want to live?
Robyn is planning to base herself in Kuching for an extended period later this year as she likes her daily routines there and spending time with good friends. A keen amateur photographer, she finds Kuching to be an incredibly photogenic city.