From early on in Margaret Lawrence's autobiography it is easy to see how and why she picked its title.

Its Good to Be Alive Today was originally written by the Nailsea pensioner to help her family understand where they come from.

But three months after being published her book has sold more than 5,000 copies, been on Waterstones best-selling list and has a place in the BBC Archives and at the history and war museums following an upsurge of interest in human interest stories related to World War 2.

It also has a third and inspiring purpose.

Margaret, of Southfield Road, wants to raise £1 million pound from book sales so that she can buy a Fluoroscopy machine - an x-ray machine which can provide many different investigations - for the Bristol Royal Infirmary, whose staff saved her life after a massive heart attack.

To many people such a vast amount of money would seem daunting and staff at the Bristol Hospital, which provides acute medicine and surgery, critical care, trauma, orthopaedic and emergency services, were so shocked by her phone call saying: "I would like to know the name of the £1 million x-ray machine because I want to buy one", that I had to confirm that she wasn't a prank caller but a kind-hearted and generous woman who just wanted to give something back to the people who helped her live.

As a memoir originally meant only for close friends and family, the book has a rawness which would have been tweaked and 'tidied up' in most fiction novels based around real life.

But this endearing style actually helps you to remember that this is a true story although for many younger generations it will feel almost impossible to comprehend that these things can and did happen.

It also keeps you reading to find out what happens next.

Margaret said: "When I started to write my story it was for my family to let them know how luck they are to be alive today, but now I feel that this story could be a way to make everyone who reads it glad with what they have got."

Margaret, aged 82, was born a love child in 1926 - which in those days was a great sin.

She was brought up by her grandmother, who loved her like her own daughter, and it wasn't until Margaret was 21 and married that she found out her father was also, her uncle.

During her life Margaret has survived whooping cough, scarlet fever, nearly drowning, heart attacks, a triple by-pass and cancer.

In between she has also helped save the lives of seven people and cared for countless more.

Its Good To Be Alive Today details Margaret's roots from an inexperienced teenager in war-torn London, dodging falling bombs to becoming a successful businesswoman, including catering competency and delighting the gastronomic needs of the rich and famous.

As well as dancing with Ringo Starr, Margaret is also extremely proud to have waited on the late Queen Mother and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

But it also highlights her many years as a devoted wife to her late husband Reg, mother to Ann and Tony and in more recent years a grandmother and great-grandmother.

Margaret and Reg moved to Nailsea in 1987 to their Southfield Road bungalow, to be nearer to Ann, and enjoyed her early retirement days helping out at Greenslade Pre-School in the town.

She also became involved with Southfield Church, where she has made many friends and says they are her second family.

At the beginning of 2009 Reg, who Margaret had been caring for over the past three years, since being diagnosed with Alzheimer's and cancer, passed away.

A funeral celebrating his life was held at Southfield Church.

Margaret is now even more determined to raise the £1 million to help as many people as she can and give something back to the Bristol Royal Infirmary.

Copies of her book are available from Waterstones and Amazon.