NCY TO RICHES
ge to made ather
0-1 it not a ut he
ng. In and
ever ng up ntry, alls a tion. very very oldmily says. “They did their best but they were not good parents in the way we’d understand that today.”
His lifestyle nowadays could not be more different than the upbringing he describes as “grey”.
He says candidly that money “definitely makes you happy”.
“You can do what you want, have what you want and do everything to your own convenience.
“You only have one life, just have maximum fun all the time and don’t worry about what the end result will be and that’s how I have tried to live. If I run out of money or die early then too bad, least I’ve had a good time.”
The Aston Villa supporter tells me a story that sums up that attitude. “I have a brother who feels the same way,” he says. “He flew to New York on a Friday and we went to the Yankees game, then we drove to the airport and flew to England, and drove to Villa Park. All within 12 hours! “We called it a mental health break because that’s the kind of thing that’s completely opposite to how we were brought up – not sensible!”
Lee’s life couldn’t be too much sweeter by the sound of it – and his story of redundancy to riches, I realise, is almost as exciting as the ones he writes.
The Midnight Line by Lee Child, published by Bantam and priced £7.99, is available from all good bookshops and online retailers.