Madeleine was born, raised and had lived most of her life in Paris – the finest city in the world as far as she was concerned.
Her cool city upbringing had meant she'd learnt to dress well and oozed surface sophistication. The survival of the fittest mentality had been drilled into Madeleine from a young age and she thought that being the sharpest and best prepared was the route to success. She appeared to take everything in her stride but underneath she was on a constant mission to self-improve and actually quite hard on herself.
Saint Marie exposed Madeleine to a team and community that was full of all the qualities she had previously avoided - warmth, empathy, inclusivity, friendship and support. Sometimes it freaked her out but soon she started to understand there were alternative ways of achieving contentment.
After being offered a promotion at home, Madeleine moved back to Paris.
