Win a copy of Helen Drew's book Lights in my Life Sunlive

During her 71-years on this Earth there's been many moments that have given author Helen Drew reasons to smile, cry, ponder and hope.
Now avid readers and the curious alike can take a peek into Helen's world with the publication of her debut autobiography Lights in my Life which is set to be released next week on April 30.
Published by London publishing house Austin Macauley, Lights in my Life takes readers on a journey from Helen's childhood growing up in Whanganui to her life today in the Coromandel.
The memoir describes the highs and lows she experienced and features shared moments – some humorous, some heart breaking, all inspiring – with her three sons Steve, David and Tony.
“To me it all seems a bit surreal at the moment,” admits Helen. “It was really just a little story for our family, just trying to make sense of the life my three boys and I had together because I raised them by myself.
“We've had quite a lot of adventures in our lives which are all in the book, and there's a couple of accounts from Steve and Tony about things that have happened to them.
“It's an amazing feeling to published, I'm very excited and things seem to be really taking off.”
It was eldest son Steve, a radio deejay in Wellington, who convinced Helen to publish her memoir after being moved by his mother's words.
Helen was born in Whanganui where she lived until she was 17, and it was during this period she met and became “the best of life-long friends” with former MP Dame Tariana Turia.
The book details her tiki-tour across the country after leaving Whanganui, the birth of her three sons, a 20 year stint in Northland, right up until Helen and her partner of the last 10 years Wayne retired in Whitianga.
Helen explains their move to the Coromandel coincided with the death of her middle son David, who committed suicide five years ago.
This tragedy is included in her book and Helen hopes by sharing the experience, and how she eventually coped with the grief, it will shine a light for others going through a similar heartache.
“I'm hoping it will be of some help to people who may have experienced the same thing,” says Helen. “Writing the book was very cathartic, sometimes just being able to write things down helps – you can always screw things up and throw them away after getting them off your chest.
“In fact I learned quite a bit myself, I wanted to make sense of everything that happened and in the end I feel I did.”
Also featured in Lights in my Life is an account from youngest son Tony who spent a period of his life incarcerated.
These passages in the book describes Tony's experiences while in prison and she says they offer a “different slant on prison life”.
“He befriended a cat while in prison, it's quite amusing and interesting,” Helen explains. “I wrote his account ages ago, I would visit him in prison every week so I got the story as he told it to me.
“Tony's yet to read the book, he knows his account is included, but said he wants to wait until its published ad is quite excited.”
Of the book's title, Helen says throughout her life she had always felt that her sons Steve, David and Tony were the lights in her life, and this is still very, very much true.
But once she finished her tale and laid her pen down, Helen gained another insight about herself and her life.
“I realised that I have had so many joyful moments and people in my life that I couldn't nail it down to just three. I'm still finding lights in my life.
“Writing this book was a great process for me in a lot of ways and I hope my little story will give the reader a laugh, and maybe help or give hope to those who are grieving.”