The story of Elliott Thompson’s remarkable life proves that it’s never too late to overcome obstacles and reinvent yourself. A rebellious teen, Thompson left school and joined the Navy during the Great Depression. After sailing the world, he began a lengthy government career, immersed in numbers and budgeting. Throughout the next three decades, he struggled with alcohol addiction and failed marriages. Along the way, he dreamed of becoming an artist and living in France.

Eventually, Thompson gave up the security of his government job to study painting. By the 1970s, he was a critically acclaimed artist, known for his abstract geometric paintings, and a professor of art in Washington, DC. When Thompson retired from teaching, he planned to spend his remaining years painting in the South of France. During a chance airport encounter in Paris, he met the woman who would become his fourth wife, despite a 38-year age difference, and changed the course of his life yet again.

Elliott Thompson’s story, told by his wife, is a delightful and inspiring tale of optimism and the courage to set off in new directions at any age.