Trekking mountains for carers – a father's journey
A father from Horsham has published ‘Two Journeys’, a duology about raising his severely disabled son, who is now being cared for by the Norwood charity in London.
The royalties from book sales will be donated to Norwood, as a sign of his gratitude and respect to his son's carers, and for carers everywhere.
In 2016, Laurence Smith walked a mountain range for his son and his carers, and raised £16,000 for the charity.
In 2025, in his 70th year, he plans to walk the Cape Wrath Trail and ascend Kilimanjaro for the same cause.
Laurence said: “Aged four months, my son, Jeremy, was diagnosed with a severe learning disability, cerebral palsy, scoliosis and epilepsy. Unable to walk or talk, yet blessed with a deep love of trees, Marmite and music,jeremy’spersonalitytouched myfamilyandthosearoundhim.
"Thefirstbook,twojourneys – Undiminished and Unforgotten, tells how his parents and three sisters learned to accept his condition and ensure he led a full life, undiminished by his handicap, from birth through his first five years in a Norwood care home.
"Iwantthisbooktoshowhow someone like Jeremy draws out the goodness within us.
“The second book, Two Journeys–thesign,isamemoirofmy
two-month and 540-mile solo trek along the Pyrenees.
"Having witnessed the love and care afforded by Norwood, I becameobsessedwithaburning desire to ‘leave a sign to my son’s carers and lay my life on the line, just as they do for my son, every minute of every day’.
"Withnopreviousexperience ofwalkingmountainranges,suffering from dreadful acrophobia and a poor sense of direction, I felt determined to ‘give something back’. Considered together,iwantmybookstosignalhope to carers of loved ones with a disability – that all is not doom and gloom.caringforsomeoneopens new routes and possibilities that are not always obvious.
"I have been privileged to be welcomed into a truly wonderful ‘silent community’ of carers, each with their own personal stories waiting to be told. Their journeys inspired me to take on the extreme physical challenge oftrekkingsoloalongamountain range.
"As a father of someone I love dearly, I do not want Jeremy to leave this earth with no trace – thesebooksarededicatedtohim and his carers so that they will, I hope, never be forgotten.”
The book can be purchased from Amazon, in ebook and paperback, by visiting amzn. to/3pn8zu