A Shotts woman is releasing her debut memoir and self-help book this month.
Lazara Canton described how she learned to see her tragic circumstances as opportunities to turn her life around.
Sharing her experience and knowledge to help others, the mum of two-year-old daughter Santi and 22 year-old Bailey is now a mindset healer and author with homes in Marbella and Glasgow.
Lazara said: “Like many, I have had a tough time growing up. Yet, I learned to view the bad points as crossroads.
“This book is the story of my life and within it are many learnings on how you can change your life.
The remarkable life story of Lazara, who attended St Aidan’s High in Wishaw, describes her journey from a North Lanarkshire housing scheme to the world of finance in Hong Kong.
To begin with she started off safe and secure until her life unravelled due to a number of tragic, life-changing events.
She said: “We had a beautiful home. A family, sister, mum and dad and our dog. We moved from Scotland to live on the sunny coast of Spain. We had a family business. There was love, happiness and belonging. And then, nothing.”
At the age of nine Lazara’s life changed dramatically as she watched the death of her father on a beach in the Costa del Sol.
As is natural for children who’ve faced traumatic experiences, she carried the guilt and shame of not being able to help him. For many years to come, she thought his death was her fault.
Any chance of rebuilding their lives was halted once more five years later with the death of her sister AnnMarie in a car accident. She was only 19.
Wanting to be strong for her mother, Lazara hid her feelings of loss and became lost and disconnected.
“My mum and I could barely look each other in the eyes for fear of the devastating loss we would see there,” said Lazara.
Her book You can Turn This Around: A Memoir, How I Learned to Become My Own Fairy Godmother is an inspiration to the others who are lost and alone. She’s using her own trauma to help others.
“It started under strange circumstances,” explained Lazara. “I had lost my best friend to alcoholism 18 months before and I had not grieved for her.
“I woke up one morning and had this half-awake dream about my friend. It was as if she was showing me scenes of our lives together, all the fun we had and the tough times too. That day I felt a really strong urge to write it all down. And so I did.
“When I was finished I felt like I had begun the grieving process and had ‘let go’ of my anger around her death.”
Lazara resigned from her 20-year international career in learning and development that saw her coaching and developing senior leaders in the tough and competitive world of finance to follow her dream of working with others to inspire them to transform their lives and become a mindset healer.
Her work as a Mindset Healer allows her to help others to face the reality of their lives and identify what needs to change, helping to transform their pain into strength and power.
Her journey has taken her from Shotts to Spain, Jersey, Istanbul and Hong Kong and back to Glasgow where she now calls home.
Visit Lazaracanton.com for more.
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