In June 2018 Laurence Carter set off on a one-year walk of 4,314 miles around the coast of England and Wales, in honour of his late wife Melitta. He sought to raise awareness that cervical cancer can be eliminated in a generation. Before he left, a stranger told him that the people he met would change him. They did! This inspiring book recounts how those stories enabled the author to move beyond grief to finding love again. A perfect book for anyone recovering from grief, or who enjoys walking, or who relishes quirky stories.
"A touching exploration of turning grief into action." - Kirkus Reviews
"...a beautifully moving and often humorous account of Laurence's incredible journey around the coastlines of England and Wales, battling the inclement British weather in a pair of shorts..." - Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust
Full Kirkus Review:
A widower reflects on grief, family, and the power of love in this debut memoir and travelogue.
Carter first met Melitta Alevropoulos in the southeastern African nation of Malawi, where they were both working in the 1980s. On their first social outing together with a group of mutual friends, the pair hiked up Mount Mulanje, where the two held hands and fell in love. More than two decades later, married with three children, the couple first heard the devastating diagnosis that Melitta had terminal cervical cancer. In this poignant reflection on loss, Carter writes that he cried not only for the life of his partner but "for the graduations and weddings she would miss, the grandchildren she would never see, our children, and myself." After a year of grieving, the author decided to act on his wife's "simple credo that we should leave the world a better place." Fittingly, given Melitta's love of the outdoors, Carter decided to complete a 4,295-mile walk along the coasts of England and Wales as part of a yearlong awareness and fundraising campaign fighting cervical cancer. "Buttressed by purpose, support from friends and strangers, and CRUK [Cancer Research UK]," he writes, the journey taught him the "salving power of the outdoors" and introduced him to a network of other individuals whose lives had been upended by cervical cancer. Leavening his journey through grief with more lighthearted tales of his walk, he describes one of "the seven marvels of my tasting world": the first sip of beer after a day of physical exertion in the hot sun. An optimist by nature, the author repeatedly reminds readers of the importance of living a full life with those we love. At just under 200 total pages, this accessible book features a conversational, engaging text that is accompanied by maps of the 373-day trek. With all sales proceeds going to Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust, this is a moving tribute to a wife, mother, and daughter taken too soon.
A touching exploration of turning grief into action.
