This phrase particularly struck me "..my life had collapsed right in front of my very eyes. I'd nothing to live for except my fate which was to excel". Someone that has not been in this position wouldn't understand the feeling, but I think I do. Had the same feeling when I lost my dad some few years ago. I had to pick up the pieces of my broken life and put them back again.
People never know how strong they can be, until the option of weakness is overridden.