Don't Push Too Many Trolleys

Epilogue: A Legacy

“Mum's life was like a spring garden, full of colour and rich with love. Mum would be the soil that nurtures and cultivates the flowers. The flowers were us, her family, who would blossom with the guidance of her love.”

Those were the words I chose to include in my eulogy to Mum in November 2018, and they are the words that feel best to begin an epilogue to this book.

I want to be the soil, like Mum was; I hope this book nurtures and cultivates you, in whatever you choose to do in life.

Nothing would make me happier than hearing back from people telling me that this book has made a difference to their life. Indeed, even in the process of producing this book, some of the early readers of it told me that it had impacted their lives. That is my main reason for writing it. Every lesson I've learned has contributed so much to my overall journey, and I hope they speak to others, too. And as you go through challenging experiences yourself, always remember that, when you come out the other side, you might have some valuable conclusions to share.

Helping others to better their lives is about the most rewarding thing you can do.

One of my saving graces in life, I think, is that I learned early on – mostly from the shopping trolley experience and the time my car was broken into – not to take on too much and to make sensible choices. I have learned to be controlled and patient, and I'm naturally very organized; everything has to be done in the right order and thoroughly, ...