Life in the Camel Lane

Doreen Cumberford is a Scottish native, expat, author and global traveler for more than four decades. In her 20s, Doreen joined Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Her first posting was as the youngest and most junior British Embassy staffer in Cameroon, West Africa. Later, she moved back to London and took a position with an American oil-field construction company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

After moving to America, living in Louisiana then California, (two extremely different cultures in the US,) Doreen and her family moved overseas to Japan, then spent 15 years in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. With 13 major moves under her belt, she understands the value of moving, building a new life and handling inter-cultural hurdles. One constant has been her ability to explore through the lens of adventure. Her stories are full of multi-cultural intelligence, messy multilingual communications and multi-global perspectives.   

Doreen is currently based in Denver, Colorado but spends most of the year living adventurously in the Housesitting Lane, which takes her around the globe. Currently she is doing her best to install Spanish in her brain, which already has French and smatterings of Japanese and Arabic. She is passionate about cultural intelligence, global-heartedness and life on the road.

Cumberford is featured in the Anthology: Empowering Women and is the co-author of Arriving Well: Stories About Identity, Belonging and Rediscovering Home After Living Abroad. Her new book is Life in the Camel Lane: Embrace the Adventure, was published in May 2020. 

Honest, compassionate and full of wisdom and inspiration, Life in the Camel Lane is comprised of stories from expats who lived in Saudi Arabia from 1950s onward. This memoir contains expert advice, sage wisdom and stories that all globally mobile families can use to navigate their international journey. 

The principles in this book will also encourage anyone who wants to embrace a more adventurous life at home or is considering taking the leap and moving overseas.