In Spite of Life - I'm Still Here

Eight Decades in Shades of Happy

By: Thomas Gauthier

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

In Spite of Life - I'm Still Here
Eight Decades in Shades of Happy
This is the story of my life - a MEMOIR covering the first eighty-four years. Born before World War Two and blessed with an eidetic memory, I've chronicled an amazing life story with the twists and turns, the crashes and burns, the warts and renewals, and enough pure serendipity for two lifetimes - or so I'm told.
My mission has been to reveal to my readers WHO I am beyond WHAT I am.
My life has been filled with people who added both content and context to my evolution. Those mentors, teachers, friends, and colleagues on the one hand, and those I've been able to mentor, teach, and befriend on the other, have blessed me beyond what I may deserve. Certainly beyond what I dreamed from the earliest days.
What I discovered in the writing of my life's tale is that apparently, my intellect is sufficiently keen to allow me to quickly assess and adopt the plethora of lessons and opportunities you'll find herein.
Growing up was sufficiently poor in material things to preclude continued education. Marriage and family came too early, which triggered my survival instincts. Education did come in fits and starts, accumulating an undergraduate degree and three graduate degrees that both grew out of my career and contributed to its furtherance.
This is a story of serendipity, of people, and of context for its content. Of survival and thriving, of people who helped and who were helped as the years passed by.
Blessed with a large extended family, children, grandchildren, and a lot of great-grandchildren augmented with a hundred cousins, this story is for them. I have the high honor of being the oldest living member of our clan. I've known my great-grandparents and my great-grandchildren - for a span of over one-hundred-fifty years. This story is a form of legacy.