At the outset nursing was simply a practical choice. Gradually it became a gateway to broader understandings.

My course in burns and reconstructive plastic surgery exposed the limitations of medical interventions in having to deal with the psychological toll the care demanded. This was what it must have been like to nurse during WW2 with the horrific misery and pain suffered by victims, and the secondary trauma on the nurse.

The time spent in Africa laid down facts; despite vast differences in circumstances there is a shared humanity that unites us all. My insights reinforced that humanity and their experiences is universal, transcending the boundaries of culture, economy and geography. 

Going on to train as a midwife was a switch to the excitement of fervant hope. Helping to bring new life the infant seemed to me, to be the only real miracle. It would contrast starkly with the at times darkness, I faced in health visiting, where the range of human care from empathy to cruelty was revealed.

So I kept climbing the metaphoric ladder to keep experiencing different fields of care. First I did some counselling courses that became less and less able to give me the skills or detail I needed with clients more complex needs. My four year cognitive analytic psychotherapy training at Guy's Hospital provided a more substantial scaffold to be of use to those whose lives had been marred by abuse and neglect.
The conversion degree to psychiatric nursing became an imperative where I could understand better and help support those diagnoised with enduring mental ilness.  

As a reflection of this journey, this book offers readers a varied exploration of what it means to be human. Each chapter, while distinct, contributes to a broader understanding of the socioeconomic and emotional landscapes that shape our lives. I’d been on a quest to gather as many pieces of the human puzzle as possible to gain a more realistic picture of what it means to be a human being. With life so fleeting, I am profoundly aware of our limited time and the importance of using that time well in order to seek one’s own truth and understanding.