Edel Coffey: Use an old photo to remind yourself of who you are

"Is finding happiness in life just a process of undoing all of the influences of the world until we eventually find our way back to the children we once were, the point in time when we were free to be truly, unselfconsciously ourselves?"

Author Edel Coffey pictured at home in Galway. Photo: Ray Ryan

A few weeks ago I was reading an article by a writer when I noticed her author byline was a picture of her as a child. 

The image was of a little girl blowing out candles on a birthday cake. The article, which was on a sad subject, suddenly became all the more affecting.