Now with the beginning of a new year, I feel a need to reveal why I have been so inactive about promoting my book.

I knew at the beginning of 2012 that it would be a year of great change – never dreaming of what was ahead. I had been quite arrogant in my book that I now felt that I could cope with anything that life threw at me- I had found significant strategies that really worked for me which I am so grateful for and will continue to promote. But the universe decided to challenge me in a way that made everything else in life that I had experienced totally insignificant.

Two weeks after my book was published, my beautiful husband, to whom I dedicated my book, was diagnosed with an aggressive terminal melanoma. Seven weeks ago he passed away with the dignity in which he had always lived his life.

When I wrote my book I thought I’d overcome some tough things, but life thought I needed to learn some tougher lessons so threw me the hardest curve ball  of all. When we first knew Mick’s condition was terminal, I told him that I wanted to go too but he said – “No darling, my star is about to fall and yours is about to rise.” He has supported me all the way.

I was a pretty broken individual when we met and together we have grown and healed and had the happiest, most wonderful years of our lives and no one can take that away. How lucky I have been! I am a better person for having him in my life and from all that has happened  I have learned so much which will make the work I must go on to do – helping victims out of victimhood – be even richer. Mick was reassured that he did not have to worry about me.

With his help- I have future prospects which will give me a direction and he will always be there with his hand on my shoulder and some wisdom to impart.

Going through Mick’s illness and death have been horrendous – magnified by the actions and reactions of others who were going through their own form of grief. I did become quite mentally unhinged at one time and luckily there were special people in my life who recognised my grief and supported me.

I had to realise that after all of my words of wisdom and confidence about overcoming victimhood, I was heading down the old track – and had to really practice the strategies that I had so passionately written about in my book. In my next blog I will outline the processes that have brought me back to the road to victory once more as I feel  the richness of what I have learned through this time will add enormous value to what I have to offer as a speaker, facilitator and mentor.

I am so grateful for the memories I have of my time with my gorgeous Mick. I know they were his eight happiest years and they were certainly mine. I have begun to realise that Lyn Traill is an immensely resilient, strong and capable woman who was able to arrange an extremely successful memorial gig for Mick following his death. It was the kind of send off he would have loved.

There were over 400 of his fans there and everybody in the music world who had been associated with Mick in any way, donated their time and gave the most stunning performances.  Tears flowed as we said our farewell to this amazing man. It was magnificent and at the end we all sang Mick’s signature song – Let the Good Times Roll. What I didn’t know was that as we were all singing and dancing – someone had put Mick’s rendition of this song at his very last gig – on a screen behind us. It was fabulous.

Then I thanked him for my eight wonderful years and let balloons go to say goodbye.

Now I will go into 2013 and be more proactive about what I have to offer.