They are the reasons I have written my autobiography

Life is a series of lessons which form us and allow us to grow. We learn our lessons and we move on, but, sometimes, we do not move fast enough, and we fail. We hold ourselves back. We become stuck, and the sheer burden of our lesson is too much. We rest and start again.

If I had to sum up what I have gained from my life’s lessons, I would hope that true compassion would be amongst my achievements. To be able to feel another person’s pain and sorrow as though it were my own, and to be able to guide that person through their darkest times. I feel that I can transport myself into their being, and understand fully their tragedies.

I do have that capability, I know this, and I thank my little baby daughter for the cot death she had to endure to provide me with this aspect of my nature. I thank my severely handicapped daughter for the 14 years that she suffered to enable me to learn compassion. I thank my husband as well, for the suffering he endured through schizophrenia and suicide.