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Could disaster be your greatest teacher?
Nervous, naïve and overseas for the first time, Ian and Heather Reilly volunteer to teach in Samoa, but instead spend days battling a devastating cyclone.
A riveting memoir of disaster and recovery in a foreign culture, exploring community, identity, and purpose in the Pacific.
Honest, vivid, and deeply moving -
a must-read
Mike Raiter
From sunsets to struggle...
Volunteers Ian and Heather Reilly travel to Samoa to teach, expecting fun lesson plans and relaxed island sunsets. Instead, a destructive cyclone devastates their community, leaving them without power, water, and running out of food. In their struggle to recover and teach teenagers in a foreign culture, they learn important truths about themselves and their own cultural lens.
Award-winning entrepreneur and writer Ian Reilly tells the gripping true tale of surviving a cyclone while volunteering as a teacher in Samoa. The life lessons learned through this cross-cultural work shaped his success later in life.
ENCOUNTER is for you if...
You are an aid worker or missionary, or want to better understand these kinds of cross-cultural experiences
You are an immigrant or traveler, curious about what a different culture and its traditions can teach us
You are hungry for truth, authenticity, and deep stories that give meaning to life
You are boarding a plane and need a good book to read. ENCOUNTER is a gripping story that will make time fly by!
ENCOUNTER is available at
Encounter is … culture shock in a fascinating page turner.
Dr. Chris Mulherin
About ENCOUNTER
Encounter is a vivid cross-cultural memoir and personal journey of self-discovery set in the islands of Samoa, showing how disaster can strip life back to its essence, revealing what really matters and who we really are.
Against the backdrop of survival and uncertainty, readers are immersed in the heritage, customs, and traditions of Pacific Islanders, witnessing both the strength of Indigenous resilience and the quiet struggles that shape small, close-knit communities.
Through Ian and Heather’s encounters, we see the joy and discomfort of learning to live differently — where laughter in the streets, or the etiquette of introductions, reveal far deeper lessons.
Perfect for anyone who loves biographies and memoirs that transport you into another world, Encounter is a life-changing adventure filled with the comedy, drama, and beauty of island life.
About the Author
Telling the story of ENCOUNTER has been on Ian Reilly’s heart for more than 30 years. It draws on a lifetime of creative work as an innovative engineer, entrepreneur, teacher, visual artist, and poet.
Now retired, Ian Reilly is on a mission to inspire people to be brave and take a leap into uncertainty - because you never know how one bold decision might shape the rest of your life.
Feedback for ENCOUNTER
"Honest, vivid, and deeply moving - a must-read”
- Mike Raiter
“a testament to the importance of reaching out and understanding the other.”
- Reader Views
“I had to keep turning the pages. The authenticity and vulnerability lift the story beyond a mere memoir.”
- Gerry Beimers
What Our Readers Are Saying
Encounter is a first rate introduction to culture shock in a fascinating page-turner. Compulsory reading for anyone wanting to engage in cross-cultural work
Ian perfectly captures what it's like to be in Samoa: the humidity and heat, living in the beachside fales... this is a great story, compellingly written - highly recommend!
I had to keep turning the pages. The authenticity and vulnerability lift the story beyond a mere memoir.
“Very well written. Best book I’ve read in many, many years.”
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Get the Prelude to ENCOUNTER
Ian & Heather's adventures didn't start in Samoa – they very nearly didn't make it there in the first place. Get exclusive access to the "love before the store" by joining the VIP readers list today.
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