the BYG blog

Hi there, I am Marcel, a retired civil engineer and project manager from South Africa, now spending my free time as an author and blogger.

After 40 years in the corporate world, I took the plunge to an early retirement, thinking I’d take it easy. Life had other plans. Not long after, I was diagnosed with cancer. First prostate cancer, then stage 4 lymphoma. What followed was a challenging chapter — but also one that brought clarity, creativity, and a new sense of purpose.

During treatment, I began writing. First to process my own thoughts, then to share them. I soon discovered that many people, like me, have questions about retirement, health, purpose, and what comes next. This blog is my way of sharing what I’ve learned — through experience, challenging times, and reflection.

This blog is about life before and after retirement, finances, health, and preparing for the inevitable to come with peace and clarity. This isn’t just a blog about growing older. It’s about growing deeper.

I have written and published a book on my health challenges. My debut book is written in my home language Afrikaans, named 'Gesonde Aftrede' (A Healthy Retirement). I then rewrote and republished a translated and much improved version, 'Red Devil', aptly named after one of the prominent chemotherapy drugs used to treat some forms of cancer, due to the red colour and dreadful side effects. 

This is more than just a memoir - it is an invitation to join me on an intimate and inspiring journey of survival, discovery, and self-reflection. It is my hope that my story will raise awareness of these conditions, inspire and offer solace to those facing similar challenges and shed light on the resilience of the human spirit.

Some time ago I also started a blog on house building and home ownership, to share my knowledge of the building industry. So if you want to know more about planning, designing and constructing a house, as well as the statutory requirements, how to calculate the cost and how to finance your house, or what the heck solar energy is all about, you will find all you need to know in this blog available at www.buildingblog.net.  

All three publications are available on Amazon for a Kindle, or as a PDF file on Gumroad. Alternatively you can e-mail me and get our PDF-version directly from me.

Apart from writing and blogging in my retirement, I'm a keen golfer, a true warrior of the fairways and rough!

I hope you’ll enjoy my BYG blog.

And remember: Before You Go, get your ducks in a row!