I am currently facing a major life change, bundled with a career change. I have been a rather unsuccessful, frustrated illustrator for 7 years. I am tired of the whole profession - it' s dead-end. One area I was successful in was medical illustration, though without a masters in it you can' t go too far. I have been very passionate about this specialization, but have put it off for various other ideas and opportunities.

I am also facing a divorce, and the loss of custody of my son. We live in London, my wife is German I am American. Upon our divorce she will return to Germany, I will return to the States. Therefore I will only see my son a few times a year probably, it' s very hard.

My idea for the career change is this. In Boulder Colorado there is an excellent college of massage therapy. It' s highly regarded and very professional. It will get me out from behind the computer, meeting people, learning a new skill in a flexible dynamic field. It has various options for further deveopment like physical therapy, owning a spa, etc, and decent income. And the skiing in Colorado is of course great. During this time I would also take science prerequisites and apply to the only 5 medical illustration programs in the country. If I get in, great. If not, I have the massage to fall back on. I am 35, and if this goes to plan I would probably be 39 when I get out of the program. I am a little depressed about getting near 40 with a floundering career.

My family thinks massage is "weird" and "flaky", and is trying to dissuade me, which really deflates my enthusiasm. This is totally starting over for me, single again, alone with no friends, possibly moving around for a few more years. At least I should get a decent settlement so I won' t have difficult financial issues, plus no dependents.

Without obviously knowing me personally, can anyone reassure me with this plan? I have to go out to Boulder and find where to live, and first of all get in to the school. But the duality of the massage and working toward the med illustation programs seems to make a lot of sense to me, and I welcome the change in lifestyle and location. Med illustration would not be a total career change, but a graduate education towards a specialization that should open up appealing job opportunities.

Most of all the difficulty is losing my son, he will be in Germany. Flying from Denver to Hamburg or London is very expensive and far. I am very sad about missing him, not seeing him grow up and the possibility he will have some other father figure other than me, but this is a reality I cannot escape.