Jumping into the unknown

Jumping into the unknown

by marlies|dekkers

One itsy bitsy spider bite was all it took. To be more precise: one lethal bite from the notorious Greenback spider, found only in the Iraqi Desert. “Murderer, Baghdad…” her uncle had whispered with his dying breath, and now she found herself 3000 miles from home. The air in her room was thick with sexual desire and the sweet scent of jasmine. As the Adventuress looked up from her map to glance over at the beautiful bronze body asleep next to her, she realized something. She had never felt more alive.

Forget the image of the elderly, greyhaired lady, married to her typewriter. Agatha Christie was a feisty, freedom-loving feminist who wove her own destiny by traveling the globe and fearlessly jumping into the unknown. Writing was an equally important way for Agatha to define her sense of self, and how she delighted in infusing her female characters with her own combination of wanderlust and zest for life! But Agatha outshone even her most adventurous characters when she launched herself empty-handed into the second part of her life – she was 38 and newly divorced – with a spontaneous solo trip with the Orient Express to the Middle East. Here she found a new passion (archaeology) and her true love (Max Mallowan). “I had the firm conviction that, if I went about looking for adventure, adventure would meet me halfway,” she once wrote. “It is a theory of mine that one always gets what one wants.”

“Your travel life has the aspect of a dream. It is something outside the normal, yet you are in it. You are like the Vikings who have gone into a world of adventure, and home is not home until you return.” Agatha Christie

 

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fall|winter 20 preview

Marlies Says

fall|winter 20 preview

by marlies|dekkers

In January, I presented my newest FW20 collection during a show full of dance and entertainment in Rotterdam. All my work as a feminist designer is inspired by muses, powerful female icons from past and present. And for FW20, my muse will be crime writer Agatha Christie. A few months from now, you will get to discover the collections, and see how they tell stories like Agatha’s thrilling books do..

Running for your life

MD Friends

Running for your life

by marlies|dekkers

Dr. Bram Bakker is a psychiatrist, a writer, a runner and a provocateur. With his many bestselling books and columns – and yes, even his own theatre show – he urges us to think outside the box when it comes to our mental health. Not crazy about popping pills? Bram shared some interesting alternatives with me, from throwing out our phones to running ‘till we puke’.

Peas & peppers instead of pills

MD Friends

Peas & peppers instead of pills

by marlies|dekkers

General practitioner Tamara de Weijer believes that we would feel a lot better if we hit the produce stand before we visited the pharmacy. “On a massive scale, we have been putting the wrong kind of fuel in our bodies.”

Singles Day – You’ve Got this!

Marlies Says

Singles Day – You’ve Got this!

by marlies|dekkers

All the single ladies, listen up! With single women rapidly becoming the majority, it is high time to stop feeling singled out. This Singles Day, let’s celebrate our freedom and independence by sharing all those solo milestones that make us go: ‘You’ve got this!’.