But I want to tell you about an even more frightening enemy - an invisible enemy, it's an enemy that knows no borders and has no bounds, it doesn't discriminate between gender, race or religion and it is not politically motivated.

This is an insidious enemy that attacks the very heart, souls and minds of who we are by preying on our physical well being.

You can't see it, but it's out there... You can't hear it - because it is silent, but it is deadly... You can't touch it, but you can feel it - I know, because I have and you may have too, although you might not be aware of it yet.

30 years ago I had the most wonderful life, I was newly married and living in one of the most beautiful areas on the East Coast of Australia. We lived on over 20 acres of the most serene and beautiful farmland surrounded by lush rainforest and only a few minutes from the beach.

I was living in paradise, but the serenity of that environment soon eroded as I became increasingly unwell and I was at a loss to explain why. So was the medical profession, and as my condition worsened my pain, frustration and anger only compounded the problem.

This was not a sickness that suddenly took hold of me instantly - no this was an insidious disease that progressively began attacking my immune system until I had no natural defences left to fight it.

Eventually I began to suspect that my body was having an adverse reaction to chemical exposure from the pesticides and insecticides we used on the farm, despite years of pathology tests that failed to convince the medical profession otherwise. Eventually in 1990 a sample was sent to the Analytical Pathology Department in Melbourne and it revealed a significant level of DDT, plus traces of Heptachlor & Hexachlorabenzene... All three chemicals are now banned.

Make no mistake; we are living in a polluted world: the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink has all been tainted by the recklessness of our own creation. It's not surprising when you consider that multinationals are producing dangerous chemical compounds which can be released onto the market with very little requirement to justify their safety and once the dangers have been discovered, as with DDT, it's often too late.

DDT is but one example in a world polluted by countless dangerous chemical compounds, even those chemicals which are rigorously tested and deemed safe by authorities are a potential minefield of unknown risk as they combine with other hazardous compounds already in our environment.

Forget Shelley's Frankenstein, these creations are far more dangerous and frightening and what's more, they're very real.

In 1985 my condition didn't have a name, but today it does... Multiple Chemical Sensitivity or MCS and as the name suggests it is far more complex than being susceptible to just one product. I was exposed to many herbicides and pesticides on our farm and because it's been impossible to prove which chemical or combination of them brought me to my knees, recovery through the courts for compensation has proved an endlessly frustrating and futile cause. I lost my marriage and gained very little financially through my legal battles against the manufacturers whose products I was exposed to - simply because they can hide behind the argument that you can't prove which of their products affected you.

It's the same reason that liability will be so hard to prove on a much larger scale in the future and that scares me, as it should you. It's been a long, hard road to recovery for me. In my darkest hours I contemplated suicide more times than I care to remember and even today, some 20+ years since I was first crippled by this disease, I still fight a constant battle against exposure to an invisible enemy.

Writing this book was a large part of my catharsis in coming to terms with what had become of me and how I've managed to cope with my life's battles on a daily basis. I'd like to dedicate this book to those who were sceptical; those who refused to believe it was possible; those who thought I'd gone insane; also the medical practitioners who had no answers - but most of all those responsible for making the chemical products which made my life a living hell.