My Ladder of Life is a depiction of a time gone by in the Lancashire Mill Town of Blackburn. It starts just before the Second World War, and covers 73 years of Alan Duffy’s life as an engineer, company owner and family man. Alan’s autobiography is set against an ever-changing social background and serves to remind the reader of the way things used to be. The life of an engineer might appear to be boring but, if Alan’s own experiences are anything to go by, nothing could be further from the truth. Alan discovered he had entrepreneurial skills in his early forties and founded a successful engineering company that in three short years he’d sold on to an American Corporation he continued to manage the company until 1993 when they relocated to the USA. Alan then started a another engineering company.Alan’s career has been rewarding and interesting and sometimes fraught with danger! Occasionally events that have befallen him which seem too funny to be true! My Ladder of Life encompasses such varied events as Alan having an audience with Pope John Paul 2 and seeing Frank Sinatra on the same day. Alan also writes about his family who have brought infinite love and support to him throughout the years.