Hurry up and Slow Down -- Laura's Story

By Laura Ferreira

CHEATING DEATH HAS MADE ME REALIZE I HAD BEEN CHEATING LIFE. DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES I DID. LET ME SHARE WITH YOU WHAT I WAS FORCED TO LEARN.

MY BOOK IS ABOUT HOW WE ARE ALL CAUGHT UP IN THE RAT RACE OF LIFE, WHICH GOT ME THINKING ABOUT THE STORY OF THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE AND REMEMBERING IT WAS THE TORTOISE WHO WON THE RACE. SURE, THE TORTOISE WAS SLOW, BUT HE WAS STEADY. THAT'S WHY I ENTITLED MY BOOK "HURRY UP AND SLOW DOWN -- LAURA'S STORY".

WITH A HORRIFIC YEAR IN 2010 WHEN I CAME SO CLOSE TO DEATH, I DECIDED TO WRITE MY BOOK, WHICH WAS ONE OF MY LIFE GOALS. I WANTED TO SHARE MY STORY AND WHAT I LEARNED GOING THROUGH THE MOST DIFFICULT TIME IN MY LIFE AND MY DESIRE TO SHARE THESE LEARNING WITH OTHERS TO HELP PEOPLE TO BETTER APPRECIATE GOOD HEALTH AND NOT TAKE SO MUCH FOR GRANTED.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Jul 19, 2012
• ISBN: 9781466936935

Laura Ferreira

I am a first-generation Canadian, fifty three years of age, and married to Joe—the best husband ever. We have two great sons: Jason, who is twenty six, and James, who is seventeen. We have always lived in Toronto, Ontario and within the Greater Toronto Area.

Book preview

Hurry Up and

Slow Down—

Laura’s Story

Laura Ferreira

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©

Copyright 2012 Laura Ferreira.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

isbn: 978-1-4669-3692-8 (sc)

isbn: 978-1-4669-3694-2 (hc)

isbn: 978-1-4669-3693-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012909912

Trafford rev. 07/12/2012

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Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Dedication

I dedicate this book in loving memory of my father, Jose Bothelo Feijo; my mother, Maria Deodata Feijo; my loving husband, Joe Ferreira; and our sons Jason and James Ferreira.

I have always had this burning desire to be an investigative journalist, but it would have meant quitting a well-paying job and going back to school. I was too chicken to make the change, and I have regretted it. Fortunately, I was in a job as an HR case manager, which meant that I investigated employee issues and concerns. This job allowed me to apply an investigative approach. In a way, I fulfilled my interest by gathering facts and writing my findings and recommendations in a formal report, which allowed me to apply my writing skills. In my mind, I became a pseudo investigative journalist. The point I want to make here is that if you have burning desires but can’t make the change, find a creative way to fulfill them.

I also had a goal of writing a book some day and planned that for my retirement years. With the horrific year in 2010 when I came so close to death, I decided that now is as good a time as any to write it. My book is about how we are all caught up in the rat race of life, which got me thinking about the story of the tortoise and the hare and remembering it was the tortoise who won the race. Sure, the tortoise was slow, but he was steady. That’s why I entitled my book Hurry Up and Slow Down. Slow down! I suggest you do that now, now while you can, since you can’t turn back or create more time.

We’ve all heard the expression Life is too short, and man, is that ever true. It’s not just a cliché! I want to share with you my true life story and the catastrophic events my family and I have endured, how we have overcome these adversities, and what I have personally learned along the way. I want to share my life lessons so that you might reflect and focus on your life. Hopefully, my life lessons will help you to make changes in your life to make it more fulfilling and enjoyable.

First, let me tell you a little bit about myself and my family. I come from a Portuguese background. My parents were born in São Miguel, one of the nine islands surrounding Portugal that make up the Azores. My parents came to Canada with nothing but the clothes on their backs in the hopes of starting a new and better life. They settled in a house in the Kensington Market area, which they shared with my godparents and their two sons. If you are not familiar with Toronto, Kensington Market is now a unique, eclectic, popular market within a very diverse