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Though author McGuinness had what seemed to be a happy, even idyllic childhood—growing up in a pleasant town in central Scotland with many advantages, such as attending Glasgow University and later attaining an accountancy diploma at Heriot-Watt University—she had a significant mental breakdown during her working years. She began to struggle with heavy bouts of depression. The medications that were standard at the time caused further complications, so the recurrences continued for fourteen agonizing years. During that time, though supported by close family, she often experienced mental and physical suffering and financial setbacks. She looked for alternative solutions, finding particular comfort in a visit to the shrine at Lourdes, where she saw people with problems like her own evincing an optimism she could share, and which gave her peace. Music, especially the songs of John Lennon, was inspirational and still provides a sense of hope as she enters a life of greatly enhanced choices. She now anticipates a new career in the field of psychology.
Throughout this wide-ranging exploration of problems and solutions, McGuinness recalls her reliance on many different forms of music—evocative popular songs such as “Mary’s Prayer,” “The Whole of the Moon,” and “Imagine”—as well as innovative psychological techniques, such as the New Thought Movement, the Sedona Method, the personal construct theory, and others. She helpfully provides a reference list for the reader’s further study. Her Catholicism has been a mainstay. She strongly advocates for and urges readers to consider the prejudicial way that many in our society are mistreated based on income, mental incapacity, and other factors beyond their control. McGuinness recounts her journey through despair to determination in an emotionally empathic manner with vivid personal recollections. In this way, she hopes to make her counsel accessible to those undergoing similar challenges.