Five Years, a Thousand Setbacks, and One Message That Matters

Scott Kyle Celebrating Book Week Scotland

Day two of our Book Week Scotland series brings a powerful contribution from Scott Kyle. The author of It’s Not Where You Start shares a story shaped by resilience, hope and the determination to choose a better path. 

When people hear that It’s Not Where You Start took five years to write, they sometimes assume the challenge was finding the right words. In truth, the hardest part wasn’t writing the story – it was reliving it.

My story isn’t unique. I grew up like thousands of other kids in Scotland – surrounded by poverty, violence, and limited expectations. In Rutherglen, where I was raised, you learned early that life doesn’t hand out favours. You had to fight for every small win. It would have been easy – natural even – to follow a darker path. Crime. Addiction. Despair. I saw it every day. I felt its pull. But I also felt something else: a stubborn belief that life could be different.

The streets were rough, but laughter still echoed through them. Even when the cupboards were bare, there was always someone ready with a joke or a story. And that’s what saved me – stories. Stories gave me hope. They showed me that every character, no matter how hard their beginning, had the chance to change their ending. So I chose – deliberately – not to focus on what was broken around me, but on what was possible.

My journey wasn’t a straight line. As a boy, I spent time in foster care. Years later, I became a foster carer myself. Life has a way of circling back, giving you the chance to offer the support you once needed. That full-circle moment didn’t happen because life was easy – it was built on setbacks I had to overcome.

I wasn’t handed opportunities; I built them brick by brick. Twenty years ago, I found a small play script in my local library – Billy & Tim. Something about it spoke to me. I believed in it, so I put everything I had into bringing it to the stage. Within a few years, it became the biggest show in Scotland. Then, just like that – I lost the rights.

Losing the show broke me. For a time, I questioned everything. Had all those years been for nothing? Was I foolish to believe I could build something bigger than myself? But setbacks aren’t roadblocks – they’re crossroads. You either give up or grit your teeth and find another way forward.

I chose the latter. And years later, after a long and painful legal journey, I finally regained the rights to Billy & Tim. Today, I’m producing it again – bigger, stronger, and wiser than before. That wasn’t just a professional victory. It was proof that resilience works.

Life-changing opportunities don’t always arrive with fanfare. I once signed onto a project without realising it had a Hollywood legend attached to it. I knew who Harrison Ford was – of course I did – but I had no idea he was part of the production until I was already involved. It was a reminder that sometimes the biggest doors open quietly – and you only recognise them once you’ve walked through.

It’s Not Where You Start is more than a book – it’s a testament to faith, determination, and the power of positive choices. My past didn’t define me. It prepared me. The same is true for anyone reading this.

Your beginning is just your first chapter.

Your finish line is still being written.

Keep going.

Happy Book Week Scotland – and thank you for letting me share my story.