FROM THE BOTTOM UP

The older I get, the more I realise how much my upbringing and the difficult circumstances that sometimes surrounded me, have shaped me and influenced my decisions throughout my life. Despite being gifted and talented in so many areas, and despite becoming successful in almost everything I put my hand to, or set my sights on, somewhere along the line, I lost my way and ended up being uncontrollably dragged down into the world of drinking, drugs, adultery and smoking, and surrounded by shallow and insincere 'friends' who shared that 'dark world' with me. It was an endless downward spiral - and I finally sank so low that I eventually reached rock-bottom and lost absolutely EVERYTHING - my job, my family, my possessions and my self-respect! It was only then that I realised how much I had neglected and sacrificied the most valuable and meaningful relationships in my life, my closest family, and the things that money CANNOT buy - all for the 'thrill' of satisfying my own selfish needs! Join me, as I share my journey with you - my greatest desire and prayer is that there will be someone out there who will be able to identify with where I've been, will take heed, and turn their lives around before it is too late... If i can rebuild my life again "from the bottom up", then so can you!

There are two reasons for me writing this book: firstly, I have always wanted to tell the story of my life, and secondly, I needed to deal with some of my past issues and to exorcise a few ‘demons’ that I had not dealt with properly in the past. Whereas I previously always kept a lot to myself, thinking that time would heal old wounds, the process of writing has finally given me the chance, and the courage, to talk openly about my past to my closest family, especially to my Mom and my wife.

This is a true story about how my life got totally ‘derailed’ and how I was given a ‘second chance’ to rebuild it from scratch. As I look back on my life, I am so much wiser and realise that all the ‘good, the bad and the ugly’ experiences of the past have ultimately shaped and moulded me into who I am today – a much happier and better person!

I hope that this book will be an inspiration to others, and that it will help them to see that, no matter how low they may have fallen, there is always hope for the future