{"product_id":"my-beautiful-mess-9780646841229","title":"My Beautiful Mess","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWork was my everything\u003c\/strong\u003e. Year after year I smashed \u003cstrong\u003esales \u003c\/strong\u003etargets in the competitive and relentless world of \u003cstrong\u003emedical device sales\u003c\/strong\u003e. I won awards, travelled the world and was at the beck and call of my \u003cstrong\u003eNeurosurgeon\u003c\/strong\u003e customers - 24\/7. I thought I was successful.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the eyes of those around me I was a portrait of professional success that left them asking, \"\u003cstrong\u003eHow does she do it?\u003c\/strong\u003e\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn paper, I was a mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend. In reality, I was an unhappy preoccupied stranger, doused in shame and hurtling down a path of self-destruction. I didn't want to give up the handsome income my life and self-worth depended on. Nor could I walk away from what I had worked so hard to create. But where I was no longer felt right. My family, my 10 year old son was suffering. I was stuck.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThen came the day I physically couldn't drive to work. I sat in my car, hands shaking on the wheel, tears streaming down my face. I didn't recognise the person staring back at me in the rear-view mirror. My body and mind had given in. 5 days later I resigned. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe ensuing few years - my beautiful mess.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt the age of 40, I was forced to hit pause on life. To take time away to rearrange my relationship with myself, my 10 year old son and for the first time in 40 years, learn to understand my \u003cstrong\u003emental health\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was messy, confusing and difficult. The lessons learnt, beautiful.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMy Beautiful Mess is a culmination of stories that taught me the lessons I needed to learn to live a happy and fulfilling life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is a raw, generous and relatable account - as a working parent, then single parent grieving daughter, professional woman in the \u003cstrong\u003emale dominated world of neurosurgery\u003c\/strong\u003e and a person who lives with \u003cstrong\u003echronic anxiety\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile the context is my life, the stars of the show are my three characters: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e- The masked spinal surgeon - my arch nemesis who taught me more than I'd like to admit\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e- The Director - the person whose opinion mattered most at the time\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e- Irene - the mad woman who is my anxiety\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMy hope for my book can be summed up simply through the following quote: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"One day you will tell your story of how you have overcome what you are going through, and it will become another person's survival guide.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Sitcheff Enterprises\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/26\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780646841229\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 260\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.69lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.27h x 5.83w x 0.55d","brand":"Peta Sitcheff","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40550694027445,"sku":"9780646841229","price":19.54,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_1f8204e8-21ef-4d62-a957-93f02790c3ea.jpg?v=1626791919","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/my-beautiful-mess-9780646841229","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}