Legacy Life Reflections: 'Onwards and Upwards' with Linda Jacomb despite a Terminal Diagnosis. Light Dancing on the Water and a Life Proudly Lived with Resilience, Pragmatism, Optimism & Courage

This is a special ‘Legacy Life Reflections’ episode in which Chris offers to record Life Stories for posterity. Either your own Story or the Life Story of someone that you love for posterity.

Against the backdrop of a terminal diagnosis, this is the brave and profound story of Linda Jacomb, which both she and her son asked me help tell. What she shares is so pragmatic, so resilient, so stoic and so wise that I invited her to ‘go public’ and share her Story with the world. Linda agreed and this is her story.

A Dorset walk to a walled garden. Light dancing on water. A motto whispered at crossroads: onwards and upwards. Linda Jacob invites us into a life built on fairness, quiet courage, and the everyday craft of choosing our response when events feel out of hand. We talk about here roots in Buckinghamshire, a grandmother named Florence who taught kindness without gossip, and the determined climb from leaving school early to earning skills through night classes and long bus rides. One formative moment—watching a senior leader belittle a colleague—sparked a promise to lead with dignity, a pledge she kept across decades in social work, supported housing, pubs, and company directorships.

The centre of gravity is service. Linda shares intimate, hard-won stories from homelessness support, including a young father who, after months of learning and resolve, won custody and a new home for his child. These are victories measured in confidence regained, routines restored, and doors opened. Her inspiration comes from ordinary people facing extraordinary pressure and from the disciplined habit of finding a usable positive in the negative. We explore how she practices emotional agency—separating content from reaction—and why “Just for today” remains a practical anchor for focus and wellbeing.

There’s tenderness, too: Halcyon days in the long spring of 1975 when her first child Brennan was born; music that holds memory—Simon and Garfunkel’s Bookends, the ache of Going Home; and a signature coffee cake taught by Nanny Taylor that became a small community legend. We linger at twilight, that moment when day blends into night, and consider legacy without fanfare: protect dignity, pass on what works, laugh when you can, make one good thing well and share it. Linda also speaks candidly about facing serious illness and her plan to turn hardship into guidance for fellow social workers, transforming pain into a map others can use.

Come for the stories; stay for the tools. If you value humane leadership, homelessness advocacy, emotional resilience, and the restorative pull of nature, you’ll find a generous guide here. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs steadiness today, and leave a review with your own motto for moving forwards—what keeps you going onwards and upwards?

CONTACT CHRIS ABOUT THE SHOW:

To record either your own Life Story or you can GIFT an episode to someone that you love, with Chris as your host.

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