A new book from Belvedere, Canaries resident Celia Mitchel is quickly catching many people’s attention, especially as the fallout from the COVID-19 era subsides.
Mitchel’s latest offering, “Chase Your Goals, Change Your Life”, chronicles the author’s true life story: from her humble beginnings to the loss of her father at age 10 to defying the odds by remaining faithful and determined despite her seemingly doomed fate.
In the book, the self-described “never-lacking, carefree, river-loving, small village” girl recalls being plunged into despair and poverty following her father’s passing. In fact, the reality of his passing began to set in around age 12.
“For years after his death, we went to school with no breakfast, no lunch, and no idea if we would have dinner, and most days we did not have any,” Mitchel recalls. “My mother, single and unemployed, did what she could to help and I am so proud of her for never giving up. She cleaned houses, ironed, washed; whatever she found to do. It just never seemed to be enough to take care of six children, herself and my grandmother.”
Mitchel’s deep sense of resilience and determination was spurred by her mother’s indefatigable spirit to go above and beyond the obstacles the family faced. One night, Celia made the decision to focus on her disposition and plan a road map for her future. It’s a story that she still tells with a nostalgia that evokes courage and zeal.
“One night, while lying on a worn-out sponge on the floor of our — the six children’s — bedroom, I awoke to the deep sobs of an anguished soul in the living room,” Mitchel recalls. “It was my Mom, crying hopelessly. She pined that she really had nothing with which to send us to school. As I knelt beside her, with tears streaming down my own face, I promised to go to school in spite of, and right there on the living room floor, I decided in my mind that I would be the first female on my mother’s side to complete secondary school. That is the first time I had consciously set a goal and I was determined to achieve it.”
Now married with two daughters, Mitchel is the Goal Chasing Coach of Mitchel Success Academy, a private company she started some years ago. She’s also a Life Skills Teacher at Soufriere Comprehensive Secondary School. While she plans her next book, she’s also working on her second Master’s.
Mitchel says her story is one that will inspire anyone, especially students and women. By penning the worst and best days of her life in the book, she reminisces how the human spirit can achieve and conquer despite feeling down and out.
During her book launch at 758 Saint Lucia Books in La Clery, Castries, in September, Mitchel encouraged people to read the book which, she says, is a roadmap to success.
In his review of “Chase Your Goals, Change Your Life!”, author/playwright Gyanchand Rayman, who was her Literature teacher during her brief stint at Entrepot Secondary School, writes: “It is from the sum of her personal struggles, her determination and resilience that Celia was able draw several lessons, the primary ones being that it is essential to trust in Abba, the Supreme, for guidance; that it is possible to change one’s circumstances regardless of how difficult they may seem; that being realistic, setting goals and persevering in their execution can result in success. Writing ‘Chase Your Goals, Change Your Life’ was therapeutic to Celia as she was able to come to terms with her past and, beyond that, to provide us with a recipe for action to chase our goals and change our lives towards realizing our dreams. In this young writer, Celia Mitchel, we have a champion of champions.”
The 263-page book was published by WOW Life Publishing in June 2022 and is available in paperback for US$19.99 on Amazon.com. It can also be bought locally from 758 Saint Lucia Books or from the author at EC$50.00.