Cooking for You

"The moment that I really understood I needed to change my behaviour was when I passed out drunk in my home, splayed out across the living room floor, not having been able to make it to my bedroom conscious. The doors to my home were all wide open. My laptop (my world) was outside on the table. So was my phone. And my wallet. The gates to my property were all open and the lights were all on. I shall remain eternally grateful that my guides were paying attention and watching over me that night, because I may very well have woken up to an entirely different, life-changing horror. The next morning, I decided it was time to consciously make some changes while I still had even half of the slightest chance of success."

And so began my journey of discovering ways in which I might make really important changes in my life. The first discovery was the need to begin nourishing my heart, body and soul with food. My big problems were that I hated cooking for myself almost as much as I despised eating alone. Eating alone made me feel impossibly sad and lonely. I was using alcohol to mask these feelings of immense sadness, but as I turned 60, my emotional stocktake began in earnest. I had to confront these demons and find meaningful ways to make the necessary changes I desperately needed in my life.

My little book is the result of months and months of unpacking my feelings, my earliest childhood memories of food, my addiction to alcohol, and the dangerous effect this self-neglect was having on my physical and mental health and wellbeing. I was creating memories that would haunt me for the rest of my life, and I really needed to change my personal narrative - to be the best person I could be, not only for myself, but for the precious individuals I count as my inner circle of closest friends.

My book helped me arrive at a place where the joys of planning, shopping, cooking and eating the meals I lovingly prepare for myself has created a world of possibilities and potential. It has eliminated the great despair I used to feel cooking for myself and eating alone. It has helped me find my joy in achieving a significant personal goal for what remains of my life.

My great hope is that you, or someone you know, might find something in my experience that helps you arrive at this very special place too.

Geoffrey Williams, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia