Some people pass through your life. Some stay. Some change everything.
Well… here we are.
After years of writing articles about life, work, health, travel, gastronomy, leadership and our adventures around the world, I’ve done something that I hadn’t really planned.
I’ve written a book.
And not just any book. A memoir.
It’s called The People I Collected: A Memoir of Life, People and All the Unexpected Journeys.
How Did This Happen?
Those who have followed SDB-Plus for a while will know that I have never been particularly short of stories.
Some were about wonderful restaurants and memorable journeys. Others explored professional experiences, leadership, coaching or the fascinating differences between cultures.
And then there were the more personal stories. Leukemia, a stem-cell transplant, a stroke, rehabilitation, burnout and the sometimes difficult process of finding your way back.
At first glance, these subjects might not appear to have much in common.
But when I began looking back, I discovered a connection.
People.
Every chapter of my life was shaped by someone.
Sometimes by a person who stayed for decades. Sometimes by someone who appeared for only a few hours. And sometimes by people whose influence I didn’t fully understand until years later.
Thirty-Six Years, Three Months and Ten Days
My professional journey with Shell lasted exactly 36 years, 3 months and 10 days.
I worked in different roles, experienced different cultures and had the opportunity to live in Belgium, the United Kingdom, Malaysia and the Netherlands.
There were extraordinary projects, wonderful colleagues, difficult decisions and enough meetings to fill another book.
But when I look back today, I rarely think first about the project plans or presentations.
I remember the people.
The colleagues who became friends. The managers who believed in me. The people who challenged me. The teams who achieved things together that none of us could have accomplished alone.
Those relationships are what stayed with me.
When Life Changes the Itinerary
Of course, not every journey follows the plan.
My own included leukemia, a stem-cell transplant, a stroke and a long period of rehabilitation. Later came burnout.
These were not experiences I would have chosen.
But they changed how I understood resilience, success, vulnerability and the importance of accepting help.
They also reinforced something that has become central to the book: we may celebrate individual achievements, but we rarely get through life’s most difficult moments alone.
There is usually someone walking beside us.
Retirement? Not Quite!
At sixty, after leaving Shell, perhaps I should have settled into a quieter life.
Apparently, that wasn’t going to happen.
An opportunity appeared in Vietnam, and before long Isabelle and I were preparing for another international move.
A new country. A new organisation. New colleagues. New friendships. New challenges.
Another train had arrived.
And, as I have learned over the years, sometimes you simply have to get on.
So What Is the Book Really About?
It isn’t a traditional business memoir, although work features prominently.
It isn’t a travel guide, although several countries provide the backdrop.
And it isn’t solely a story about illness or recovery, although those experiences changed my life.
It is about the people who make all those experiences meaningful.
The ones who become part of our story.
And the ones whose stories we become part of.
I hope readers will find moments that make them smile, passages that encourage reflection and perhaps a few experiences that feel surprisingly familiar.
A Thank You to My Collection
Writing this book also made me realise just how fortunate I’ve been.
Fortunate to have Isabelle and our family beside me.
Fortunate to have made friends across countries and cultures.
Fortunate to have worked with people who taught me so much.
Fortunate to have met extraordinary healthcare professionals and people who helped me recover when life became difficult.
And fortunate to continue meeting new people today, including here in Vietnam.
To everyone who has shared part of the journey, thank you.
You are the reason this book exists.
Discover The People I Collected
The People I Collected is my first memoir, published under SDB-Plus.
The paperback, hardcover and Kindle versions are available on Amazon, with additional editions to follow.
You can learn more about the book, its story and available formats on the dedicated page:
Perhaps, when you finish reading it, you’ll look back at your own life and think about the people you’ve collected along the way.
And perhaps you’ll discover, as I did, that they’ve collected you too.
