The fairy tale of Juliet

Hers is indeed a fairy tale, but there is no fairy godmother with a magic wand or pixie dust to conjure up the Prince Charming and bring about the "happily ever after" in the life of Juliet Torcelino van Ruyven. Instead, the happy ending comes by dint of hard work, resourcefulness, determination and a dogged refusal to let circumstances–no matter how dire–get the better of her. But there were, for sure, those who helped her along the way; she calls them her angels, and she is profuse in acknowledging and thanking them for their part in her remarkable life journey.

That journey is chronicled in the book The Tale of Juliet, launched yesterday in Makati. (Another launch at National Bookstore will be held on Friday.) The self-published autobiography, much like her life now, has a mission: spreading the gospel that "You have the power to change your life".

Juliet, or Jhet as she asks everyone she meets to call her, is a driven woman these days. The single-mindedness and boundless energy that she applied to her many endeavors in life are now harnessed into telling whoever will listen that dreams do come true. She has her life to show for it, and she insists that as far as dreams coming true are concerned, "yours can too".

Her current visit to Manila–advanced on the spur of the moment by a week–to launch the book has been filled with up to four speaking engagements a day, meetings to prepare for the various book launches and book distribution network, media interviews and photo sessions.

She speaks before students, civic clubs, business gatherings, at the various branches of Rustan’s department store. Invariably her story is received with equal measures of awe and admiration; her message of changing lives received with appreciation and enthusiasm in these times of social frustration and severe economic challenge. The book’s intial print run of 6,000 copies is fast running out.

Her story is indeed compelling. She is the second of a dozen children born into extreme poverty–her father worked on and off as a driver in Manila and her mother was an itenerant vendor–in a town called Pader in Batangas province. Fourteen people cramped inside a little nipa hut, where the roof leaked or sometimes got blown away by a particularly strong typhoon, with no electricity or plumbing. She candidly describes, "When any of us had to go to the bathroom, we’d first find a nice patch of ground well behind our hut. The spot I would choose had to fulfill one very special requirement–it had to be situated near soft leaves. Can you guess why? Yes, we didn’t have any toilet paper." She goes on to advise: "...in case you ever have to wipe yourself with a leaf, be sure that you don’t choose the leaves of the sugarcane plant. Those leaves are horribly rough..."

Jhet embraced hard work as a life companion very early on. Before she even began school she was working, going around the little towns with a bilao on her head and a basket slung over her shoulder, selling fruits, vegetables, candies to the rural folk and fruits and fish to the wealthy vacationers in their beach houses in nearby resort town Matabungkay.

But she did go to school–her parents made sure of that, and to a private school (St. Claire’s) at that–and her parents constantly read to her the textbooks provided by the school, for there was never any money to buy books (buying food was even sometimes a problem).

A defining moment occurred on her third birthday, when her father surprised her with a most unusual gift: what looked like a brand new book, with the title "The Tale of Juliet" emblazoned on the front. It turned out to be a coin bank or alkansya and not a book, but the child was fascinated. That she used this as the title of her autobiography is certainly no surprise.

From Pader her story moves on to college in Manila as an interna or working student, then to a job as a medical secretary in a high-end hospital, and, in a great leap of faith and daring, to a job in far away Sana’a in Yemen. She writes very openly and honestly about even what must be the most painful details and episodes of her life, including a failed relationship.

Yemen was a major turning point in her life, starting her on a path of professional and economic success, as well as teaching her to take advantage of opportunities when they come along, no matter what may seem to stand in the way. It was also in Yemen that her life took another major turn: she met her future husband, Ted van Ruyven. After what was surely a fairy tale wedding at The Manila Hotel for the little girl from Pader, she settled in Vancouver, Canada and started a family. Having two daughters in quick succession did not tie her town to hearth and home; she ventured into direct selling and ended up winning every incentive prize the company offered.

A gift of a computer from her husband to keep her from getting bored started her on the path of entrepreneurship that led to the flourishing digital printing and graphic design business she now runs–this despite some very tremendous obstacles along the way, including her near fatal car accident, two robberies in the office that led to her husband becoming a suspect, and the tragic death of a trusted associate on the day the business was moving to its very own location.

Life has certainly thrown Jhet some pretty hard balls, but this slip of a woman–she is only four feet ten inches tall–has counted on faith, a remarkable inner strength and resourcefulness and a little help from her friends to not only survive the difficult times, but turn them into successes.

She is now determined to share her story of "living a life of gratitude, abundance and purpose"–and it’s a story worth listening to.