It’s my pleasure to welcome a brand new to me author, Albina du Boisrouvray to stay in with me today and tell me all about her latest book. My thanks to Grace Pilkington for putting us in touch with one another.
Let’s find out more:
Staying in With Albina du Boisrouvray
Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag, Albina. Thank you for agreeing to stay in with me. Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening, and why have you chosen it?
I’ve brought my memoir, Phoenix Rising. It took me three years to write it in French, and I’m delighted that it’s now been translated into English. I actually began writing it in English about ten years ago, but since I was living in France, the language of the book gradually shifted to French.
That sounds quite a task. Do you speak both languages fluently?
My first language is English — I spent two years at an English boarding school when I was young — but I studied and worked in France, so I now have a wider vocabulary in French.
How brilliant. And why the title Phoenix Rising?
Phoenix Rising was the title suggested by my publisher, Nomad Publishing, and I love it — it feels so fitting to my life as a whole. I’ve lived three distinct lives, each very different from the one before.
Fascinating. Tell me more.
My first life was my childhood, which feels like an era that no longer exists — a world apart, marked by my mixed heritage, many obstacles, and several brushes with death. It was far from harmonious, and everything changed when my mother died when I was nineteen.
That must have been tough. What happened next?
My second life began at twenty-one, when I became a housewife in the Alps, married to a rescue pilot and mountain guide. We had a beautiful child, my treasured son François-Xavier, who shared his father’s passion for flying. I later divorced and returned to Paris, where I built a successful career as a film producer in a world dominated by men. But when François-Xavier was killed in a helicopter accident at the age of twenty-our, I was utterly destroyed.
My huge condolences. I can’t imagine how you recovered from that.
My third life tells the story of how I rose from those ashes. Having inherited my father’s fortune a few years earlier, I sold three — quarters of it — along with my film company, my home, and all my possessions — to create a foundation in my son’s name: the François-Xavier Bagnoud Foundation (FXB). Its mission was to carry on his spirit of rescue, in the broadest sense of the word. Through FXB’s work — supporting destitute children, empowering women in extreme poverty, and fighting AIDS around the world when few would even speak of it — I found my way back to life.
What a magnificent way to honour François-Xavier.
More than thirty-five years later, FXB continues to evolve. Today, we focus on engaging young people in addressing the consequences of climate change — teaching them about the dangers threatening our planet and helping them find local solutions that can be shared globally.
That’s just wonderful. What else have you brought along this evening, and why have you brought it?
I’ve brought a photograph of the very first FXB mission, which I undertook alongside Doctors of the World before FXB itself was created.
It was a campaign to lobby the United Nations to adopt the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In August 1989, fifteen children from fifteen countries sailed to New York to present it at the General Assembly. Among them were two boys — one Israeli, one Palestinian — who refused to speak to each other when they boarded the boat in France. Over the three-week journey, they became best friends.
The photograph shows them sitting together on a sidewalk in New York, smiling at each other. It captured, for me, the moment I realised how one could knit small stitches of peace through children
If only the current world leaders could realise that too.
When the Foundation’s funds were nearly gone, I devoted what remained — and later my own resources — to trying to do the same in Israel and Gaza. I continued that work until the summer of 2023.
What a wonderful story. Thank you so much for staying in with me to chat about Phoenix Rising. It sounds like an absorbing read.
Phoenix Rising
From her mixed-race heritage and privileged yet unconventional upbringing amidst historical events, to her early rebellions and forays into the glamorous world of filmmaking, du Boisrouvray’s early life reveals a fiercely independent spirit navigating complex family dynamics and societal norms.
The narrative takes a poignant turn with personal tragedy, which ignites a profound commitment to humanitarian action. Driven by a mother’s love and a desire to honour her son’s memory, du Boisrouvray founded the Francois -Xavier Bagnoud Foundation – FXB – and its NGOs, pioneering innovative approaches to combatting AIDS, putting AIDS orphans on the map and exposing extreme poverty globally
Phoenix Rising will be published by Nomad on 27th November 2025 and is available for pre-order from Waterstones and here .
About Albina du Boisrouvray
Albina du Boisrouvray is a philanthropist, humanitarian, and former film producer who founded the François-Xavier Bagnoud Foundation (FXB) in honour of her late son. For over three decades, she has dedicated her life to supporting vulnerable children, empowering women in poverty, and advancing global health and human rights initiatives. Her memoir, Phoenix Rising, traces her extraordinary personal and professional journey across three lives of transformation, loss, and purpose.
For further information, visit the FBX website or find more on Instagram and X @FXBGlobal.
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English (US) · 