Well, it certainly hasn't been a straight road!
I was born in Singapore the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour, December 7, 1941! My father was in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and we subsequently escaped before Singapore fell. My mother and I managed to get to the UK safely, but my father was captured by the Japanese with his troops and became a POW for four years.
I spent the first 13 years of my life in the UK and then went to live in Kuala Lumpur (in what was then Malaya) when my father was posted there. We then moved back to Singapore, where we were stationed at Changi Air Force base until I was 19 years old.
In 1960 we moved to Sydney, Australia when my father started a new career as the Director of a Merchant Bank.
My first career was as a Sydney photographic model. And after a 6-year relationship ended when my fiance died, I eventually met someone else, married and moved to Melbourne. I retired from modelling when we had twins which, together with our four-year old, made three.
The next 15 years were spent as a full-time 'at home mum'. When our twins were 18-months old we lost everything, including our home, and moved back to the UK (my husband was also British), where we lived for nearly 3 years.
When we returned to Australia, we decided to live in Perth, Western Australia and subsequently had our youngest daughter, Elizabeth. And when Liz went to pre-school, I took myself off to University.
It took me from 1984 to 2001 to gradually work my way through from my foundation BA to First Class Honours, to PhD. It was a very long haul, but the biggest gift was coming away with the ability to think critically.
During this lengthy period, I divorced and re-married and moved from Perth to Adelaide, where I completed my BA. Whilst finishing my studies, I also worked in a refuge for adolescent child sexual abuse survivors as a refuge worker/counsellor.
After returning to Perth, I went back to university and completed my Honours, whilst continuing to work as a counsellor in the area of child sexual abuse for the next six years.
Afer my second divorce, I became a Lecturer at a university here in Perth. I then moved out of academia and became the CEO of a Domestic Violence Peak Body.
I then took time out to finish writing my PhD and then back into the workforce again as a counsellor. Whilst working in a non-government organisation (NGO) I was head hunted by the Social Work Department of the university where I had previously worked and subsequently became a Senior Lecturer in the department, teaching counselling to Masters students.
Over the years the workloads escalated to the point of being rediculous and the pressure became overwhelming. It was now impacting on my health and wellbeing, so I retired last January (2009).
However, given that I hope to be around for at least another 20 years or so, I had to reinvent myself in another career in order to generate the income to provide me with the lifestyle I intended to have! And so, the creation of career number five - as an online coach to women entrepreneurs, with the launch of my blog (http://drkisane.com) on August 23rd, 2010. It's an on-going, evolving process!
Getting to where I am now has been a very long journey, full of ups and downs. However, I have to say that I've reached a space where I love my life and look forward to each day with great anticipation and excitement. It's a great place to be :)
