Anyone who’s known me for any time will know that I’m a bit of a sci-fi geek. I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Terry Pratchett… but my first sci-fi enthusiasm was Dr Who.

I’m old enough that ‘my’ Doctor was the lovely Jon Pertwee. I was so addicted to the show as a child that when I was away once, in the days before video recorders and catch up TV, my dad recorded an episode for me by putting his cassette player in front of the TV so I could listen when I came back (though it would have helped if I’d been able to tell what the companion of the time was screaming at!)

One of the genius moves of the Doctor Who team was the idea that the main character could regenerate – if the Doctor died, he was immediately reborn as somebody else, with the same memories and purpose but a different character and appearance. When one lead actor decided they’d had enough, they could simply be replaced by someone else. It’s a move that has helped to ensure the show’s longevity.

It can be a very attractive idea. I suspect that many of us occasionally feel that it would be nice to reboot our lives, to start again as somebody different. But there are complications.

It’s hard for the Doctor’s companions to see the person they know and have come to care for disappear to be replaced by someone else. And because the Doctor travels in time, he (or she) sometimes meets people who have met them before, but who they have no recollection of – or vice versa.

What Sort Of Person Do You Want To Be?

Just as the Doctor’s regenerations are not chosen, some of us find ourselves in the position of having to remake our lives after events that turn our world upside down. I’ve had to do that a couple of times. When my husband died, I lost him, but I also lost the person who I was with him, and the future that we’d thought we would have together. I had to decide what sort of person I wanted to be in the world now that it was just me – and it was hard.

If you find yourself in the position of having to remake your life and start over, and you’re not quite sure where to begin, maybe I can help you to work it out. If you’d like to talk it over, then do contact me and we can have a conversation.