Anyway, let me start at the beginning… ish. 

My personal journey led me here. For all intents and purposes I am an educated person and have the ability to find a good job, have a good career and live a good life. Until I tried to do these things and it just wasn’t working out, I was not fulfilled and I wasn’t ever going to be. I started thinking of the things that would have really made a difference in my life, to make it count, if I had known a few things, I would have maybe been a completely different person, a better one. Who knows. I was one of those who found themselves in the position of looking for a job, one that would get me up in the morning and one where I could make a significant difference, be fulfilled and really do well. However, in my search I was plunged into what we might call “depression” – I wasn’t depressed – I refuse to take that on, but it was super depressing looking for jobs, trying to find out who is who to make sure you speak to someone who actually has a clue  – you know, the usual rigmarole. Anyway, doing this for weeks on end can get to a person. I then decided to take a break from this and focus on something else because I was not helping anyone, least of all myself. 

One day whilst at home, I was thinking about my name and what it means, I was also thinking about how I was living up to this. 

Putting all three together, my reflective and observant nature that tries to get to the root of why certain issues occur – especially with people, my frustration of where I was in my life career and work-wise and this need or thinking to live up to my namesake – something by the way I had never thought of too much before. I came up with a passion project. 

Now I must tell you that I had always wanted to start a blog, just to dish so to speak, to get some things out and to create some interesting conversation. I started here. I figured that in order to do this and to do it well, I needed to back myself and there was no “do it under some foreign name because if it tanks, no one will know it was you” – this is so funny because it’s so true. Anyway, I couldn’t possibly do that nor did I want to if the very driving force that made me take the leap from zero to here (see what I did there) was my name. Anyway, I started a blog which I designed and positioned as a personal brand, it was always my intention to keep the two separate – having worked in marketing and advertising, this seemed like a good move. Whilst I was doing the blog I just started writing and all these ideas and connections started to click and everything I did since affirmed where this project went. 

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not bragging at all even though I totally know it sounds like it but I want to share this and whoever reads it, I want them to know that beautiful creation can come out of the most awful places. 

To cut a lot of the waffle out, I started to create an online course – I’m not sure when exactly this started to happen but I know for sure it was exactly the path I was put on, exactly the reason I was not employed by any of the 100 jobs I applied to. I always knew I wanted to do something in education, I loved project managing but building 100’s of websites a year is also not my idea of fun. I love writing and creating beautiful pieces but I am a peoples person and I want to spend time with humanity. None of these things alone seemed viable for longterm fulfilment. I wanted something that I could use all the unrelated things about myself, all the things I love to do and use them together, on a project, everyday. 

This was when TRUTCHCO LEARNING really started to take shape and I started to seriously consider it as a feasible opportunity to create something so that I can tell others about it. The exploratory and relevancy course offers a launchpad, a bridge, a gateway, a supplemental learning opportunity so that you don’t waste time playing catchup and you can get on with your life in the best way you can. It’s not a life coaching course and I am in no way a life coach, this course is what was owed to you when you left school, when you left university even when you left your first job… or fifth. This is the “grade 13” a lot of us so desperately needed, the finishing school (that actually helps you) to make connections, make things relevant and explore appropriate pathways. This is the real deal. 

Thank you for taking the time to read through a bit about me and this journey. I hope that you will partake in the course and I know that it will truly meet and potentially exceed your expectations. 

Alethea, my name is Greek in origin, meaning truth. 

Yours in truth, 

Alethea 

This is a carefully crafted story not only of survival but how to overcome trauma and embrace life. Even these words now feel so mediocre when thinking about what Eger endured. As the title suggests, the main message of the book is that in life, we all have a choice. This is also quite ironic as during the time of the war and when Eger was sent to the concentration camp, Auschwitz, she was not allowed any choice. However, she explains that during this time, she had a choice to free her mind, which is what she did numerous times in order to survive.

What struck me in this book the most, aside from the atrocities and even small fragments of some humanity that was shown in a time of complete lack of humanity, was the huge emptiness and gapping hole that was left of people once they were liberated. It is as if being in the camp at least gave people a purpose, to survive, to keep your head down, to go unnoticed, but after liberation, there was nothing to return too, no hope of reconciling with family members because they were probably dead. This term “liberation” in the book is anything but liberating. Now, survivors had to endure a second round of war trying to rebuild, repurpose and reestablish their lives with no hope or means. I find myself returning to one of the closing scenes on Schindler’s List when the solider approached the Jews at the factory and told them they were liberated, the one Jewish prisoner said, “what do we do now” – this is not the feeling of liberation.

The type of narration is also interesting and I like how Eger says one thing and then says something like “but I did not know that yet” so the reader knows that more is to come in the story about that topic. The book of course switches between past and present where Eger recalls what happens from when she was 16 years old, right up until the present day when she is well into her late 80’s! This in itself is remarkable and so precious.

The Choice is truly a beautiful book about love, hope, determination, taking a chance, the value of life and of course, survival – in every form.

Praise to Dr Edith Eger as indicated by Bishop Desmond Tutu.

I have realised that both of these things are completely untrue.

Yes, we live in a fast paced world where we want instant gratification or it takes too long to read so we would rather watch a 2 minute video giving us an overview. The list goes on with the different ways we can get compressed information quickly.

Over the years people have even realised that the more “connected” we are through technology, social media etc, the more “disconnected” we actually are in terms of human interaction, community and people engagement.

However, I have also realised that people do in fact want to read, or will read, you just need to give them something that they are interested in, something that explains things well or shows them a different way of looking at a habitual perception or even belief.

Personally, I recently (and when I say recently I mean over the last 3 years) taken up reading books that have actual stories (not self help, not biographies or get rich quick publications) but actual thought provoking, showing imagination, gripping books. I also received a lot of flack from some of my friends saying that I’m silly to read stories because I’m too old or whatever the case is but this is also an incorrect perception.

Reading, especially with stories or novels is so much more than reading a plot and following a series of events to see an inevitable outcome. Yes, of course thats part of it but through reading our imaginations are stimulated, we start thinking about different outcomes, we get to study characters feelings, thoughts and minds and this helps us understand the complexity of the human condition which in effect, helps us in our real and everyday lives. We begin to learn about ourselves as well and in figuring out characters ways, actions and feelings, we start to understand more about ourselves and others.

There are of course many other advantages of reading where you learn about history, places, developing areas or really bad ones that you would otherwise be less likely to learn about. If you really feel challenged by some of an authors thoughts and arguments it can help you develop stronger opinions about a topic or get you to figure out what really bothers you about what the author has said.

Reading books gives us a chance to escape into our own imagination – with the author guiding us. Yes it may seem whimsical and floaty, but honestly, whats the alternative with most TV shows these days showing seriously strange things making it the new normal – it’s not normal!

In a nutshell, reading is not redundant despite the popular, “I don’t have time to read” stock saying. Reading is a choice and a habit that is really not that difficult to cultivate or really enjoy.