At long last, I can ‘release’ the title to you: it is out there in the wider world of book sales.
The publisher said in their letter when accepting the book and offering a contract:
‘…your submission was found to be a powerful, poignant memoir, an admirable chronicle of overcoming extraordinary odds…’
‘…keen to comment on your masterful way with words and your remarkable ability to pull the audience into the text, to the point that it often felt like the reader was right there reliving he memories alongside you.’
‘comment(ed) on your engaging writing style and applaud the time and passion you’ve taken … we believe it to be a worthwhile addition to the genre…’
The book’s title is: Sailing through life…
Austin Macauley, my current publisher, has just released their sales pitch for the book and, I believe, it is on Amazon now too. Other sites will appear. But your local bookshop would surely love you to pop in…
https://www.austinmacauley.com/author/ardley-nick
As said in an earlier post, the release date is Friday 10th November 2023.
There are 80 colour plates and a front piece map.
The book comes in three formats:
Hard Back: ISBN: 9781398481343 @ £25.99
Soft Back: ISBN: 9781398481336 @ £18.99
EPub: ISBN: 9781398481350 @ £3.50
Blurb:
When Nick Ardley asked for a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test, the aftershocks of a prostate cancer diagnosis were momentous. Frightened, he said he was too young to die. Petrified, he understandably broke down. But all was not lost: his family and the boat shared with his wife were soon at work repairing his life.
A life-long sailor, the salt marsh fringed waters of the greater Thames estuary had always enthralled, and it was to them he went for healing. It’s a place where in the free flow of a saline breeze his mind cleared, and he began treating it all as just another little illness. Like a cold, he said, knowing full well it wasn’t! Sailing up the River Thames, he announced to his wife his choice of the medical directions offered. Later, after mooring off Gravesend, both cried together.
Ardley’s treatment overlapped the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, the serious stuff was done and dusted. The pandemic brought new trials. The couple were frighteningly threatened by a fellow yachtsman who disliked an Ardley web blog … the horror of that summer has remained fresh.
Throughout the telling of Ardley’s tales, his story, sailing with family and friends, country walking and living life, he has maintained a normality. Perhaps a familiar story, but it comes with a warning: Men, get yourselves tested before it’s too late!
So, onwards he goes, sailing through life…