Achieving My Dream
by Pat Duff
(Mooloo Queensland)
Pat Covershot
Fabulous Way Beyond Forty
Achieving My Dream
My name is Patricia Young and I am nine years old.
When I grow up I would like to be an authoress.
(An excerpt from my Primary School composition book - c1950s)
Now I am in my sixties, "fabulous way beyond forty", and I have achieved my childhood goal - my first book is completed and out there.
I spent many years as Director of Health and Home Affairs, a voluntary full time position with lots and lots over overtime, which called for multi-tasking and varied skills including raising children, changing endless nappies, wiping runny noses, making mountains of meals, washing miles of dirty clothes and being a disputes referee, maths wizard, taxi driver, finder of all items lost, confidant, and receiver of much loving, which made it an extremely worthwhile position.
But the children eventually all flew the nest - and then my man and I didn't like it home alone, so we left too; we made a tree change and found our perfect paradise in the country. In this peaceful serenity, I decided to follow my long-held dream and set about writing my first book.
I had not gone to university so I didn't have any degrees or diplomas to my name, but I loved the written word. The only writing I had done over the years, apart from notes to various school teachers and the odd shopping list, was to create poems for all occasions; births, marriages, deaths, and festive occasions for members of my family.
Whenever we went out, I drove my husband crazy pointing out spelling mistakes on billboards, shop signs, and advertisements. In fact, wherever I saw a misspelt word I cried, "Look at that, Terry, wouldn't you think they could spell such a simple word correctly!"
As a "fabulous way beyond forty" grandmother I had, of course, mastered the art of email and word-processing and the mysteries of cyberspace were unfolding before me on my newly acquired computer. My fingers on the keyboard were itching to create a masterpiece, a symphony of words, something wonderful!
And then (was it Fate?) I met and became friends with a fabulous woman with an amazing past. So, with my trusty tape recorder at the ready, I listened to her story over many weeks and typed it out, creating Word docs and files and folders, all appropriately named. At first, I was going to write her memoirs just for her family to enjoy but, as the weeks went by, I realised that hers was a BIG story that needed to be told to the world.
My long suffering husband knew that my dream was really important to me, so he took on the extra duties of house cleaning and cooking when I was otherwise engaged, which happened often.
I became best friends with 'Google' (we spent many long pleasurable nights researching together) and as weeks turned into months and I became deeply involved in my friend's life, my book gradually took shape.
I really enjoyed the internet detective work and the "thrill of the chase" in following each clue until I found the information I needed. I made internet friends in England and Canada who helped me compile the detailed background data for my book. Around this time, I went on an overseas trip and while in Vancouver, spent an interesting and informative afternoon with one of my contacts, which was brilliant! I was overwhelmed by his generosity and the kindness of all the people who didn't really know me but were ready and willing to help with all sorts of interesting snippets to add to my book.
After eighteen months of hard work and dedication, (I loved every minute of it by the way), my manuscript was finally finished.
A group of "fabulous beyond forty" women, all specialists in their field, groomed my book for publication; proof-reading, editing, setting the lay-out, designing the cover and organising and planning the marketing, and the finished product is streamlined to perfection.
My book, titled "In the Shadow of the Golden Pagoda" is selling in bookshops all over, even on-line, with proudly signed copies available on request. Imagine seeing your dream come to fruition, as mine has, and you too can share my delight by viewing or even purchasing a copy at Catbird Media.
I am so glad that my childhood dream to be a writer remained deep in my heart. My busy life as a housewife and mother got in the way for a while, but that just added to my 'school of life experiences' and opened the door to a whole new exciting, fulfilling and wonderful world.
Never, never give up on your dream.
My next book is well beyond the planning stage and I'm having so much fun being Fabulous (way) Beyond Forty.
Patricia Duff
Mooloo in Queensland, Australia
