Oonagh Shanley-Toffolo was born and brought up in rural Ireland, County Leitrim, where she entered a convent at the age of 16 and was a nun for 20 years. During this time she trained as a nurse and was sent to India to look after the elderly, where she got to know Mother Teresa. However, her experiences in Calcutta made her believe it was young mothers who needed more care but that the only way to nurse them was to leave her order. Gaining a special Papal dispensation in 1965 to do so, she suddenly found herself in the outside world, with only a change of clothes and £100 in cash but with an enormous taste for freedom.

In 1969, she sought new adventures and moved to Paris. There, like so many others in Paris, she discovered new dimensions of living and loving. At the same time the American Hospital's Matron called her to nurse the Duke of Windsor, she cared for him up until he died. To this day her admiration for this remarkable man has not changed - he was a Prince who never lost the common touch.

After marrying in 1973, she and her husband, the architect, Joseph Toffolo, lived in Baghdad over a period of several months. To return home, Joseph sketched his map of the route from Iran and through Syria, Greece, Italy and France. (All overland) he wanted to show her the delights and culture of other civilisations...it was their belated honeymoon.

Arriving home was tinged with sadness and quickly, plans were made to find a studio in Paris, and the tale of two cities commenced!

Having long searched for an alternative to allopathetic medicine, she trained as an acupuncturist in 1979 and completed her studies in China in 1981. Eight years later, after having herself endured serious illness she was requested by Princess Diana to be her acupuncturist and spiritual mentor, a role she fulfilled until 1996.

Today, she continues her search for wholeness, and better ways to live and to love. Oonagh’s autobiography, The Voice of Silence is published by Rider.