History is full of examples of those who are incredibly successful when measured against the usual metrics of society—wealth, political power, fame—but whose success was attained in spite of powerful personal challenges.

Ernest Hemmingway and Winston Churchill were serious alcoholics. John F. Kennedy had debilitating spinal problems. Hellen Keller became completely deaf and blind before she was two years old. Oprah Winfrey endured sexual abuse as a child. Each of these individuals persevered through these hardships to become internationally famous and revered.

In the poignant new memoir Notes for the Children, author Patrick Priestner demonstrates that he is another example of someone who became significantly successful despite humble beginnings and an inherited legacy of abuse, alcoholism, and a reliance on pills.

While Priestner might not be a household name like those mentioned above, he is one of Canada's wealthiest and most accomplished entrepreneurs. He founded and cultivated one of Canada's most prosperous automotive enterprises, AutoCanada, and is today among the most generous philanthropists in the country.

His book is one part memoir and one part self-help manual, and overall, it is an instruction guide for life written for the benefit of his children and grandchildren.

The origin of the book is a series of notes and reflections Priestner compiled over five decades of business meetings, family strife, and personal turmoil and triumph.

Priestner chronicles his modest beginnings, moving from home to home with his four siblings, who all tried to navigate the toxic behaviour of their parents—an angry and abusive alcoholic father and a troubled mother who self-medicated with alcohol and pills.

He candidly shares the trials and joys of his familial and personal relationships, artfully documenting how his love of music and acceptance of Buddhist principles aided him in confronting life's challenges with empathy and forgiveness.

Like so many before him, Priestner attributes his outward successes to the ability to overcome the internal challenges that so many others succumb to. "Without these struggles, I may not have been desperate enough to find and study Buddhism or been motived to practice (and continue to practice) bringing mindfulness, gratitude and self-compassion to ever aspect of my life," he wrote.

Priestner's key strength and most compelling lessons come from recognizing that becoming a better individual, parent, and leader demands constant self-focus and self-correction.

He readily admits to past mistakes, which he shares with the reader with humility and candor, writing, "Had I not been embarrassed and ashamed by my behavior, maybe I would not have done the (personal) work I am talking about in these notes to you."

Today, Priestner is one of Canada's wealthiest and most successful business people, but the lessons he offers readers are anchored by his gratitude for the strength to overcome his inherited demons. As he wrote, "I'm not aware of any pharmaceutical drugs that can do for us what gratitude will."

Notes for the Children is available at Amazon, Indigo, and Apple Books.