I’m Fine, Thanks’, recently published, is a touching memoir exploring one man’s journey through grief and destruction, finding love in the depths of despair!
Chris and Anne are enjoying a loving marriage in the prime of their lives when Anne is diagnosed with a rare and fatal genetic disease. For ten years, Chris and Anne endure this terrible secret alone. After Anne’s death, Chris, ravaged by crippling grief, realises that his survival depends upon him ridding himself of his stiff upper lip. He must learn to open his heart and cry. Saved from the depths of misery by life-saving therapy, he discovers a life beyond despair, rekindles his lapsed faith and finds love again.
Chris says, “Anne, my wife, was diagnosed with Friedrich’s Ataxia , and after ten years of gradual deterioration in her condition, she died. Having cared for her throughout her illness, I was left bereft and severely depressed. The book recounts our life together as we faced her impending death, and my life afterwards as I struggled to cope. From someone who was suicidal and without hope, very gradually and with a great deal of help and support from others, I was able to come to terms with my loss and to become a stronger person, ready to look to the future with optimism and to find love again.”
Continuing, he says, “While the book tells a poignant story of grief and loss, I hope it will provide encouragement to anyone facing illness, sorrow or bereavement that, however dark things are, life can become worth living again. I am very honest in the book about the mistakes I made, including how I tried to repress my emotions instead of opening up and seeking help. The book tells how, through counselling, and through rekindling my faith in God, I was brought back from the brink of despair.
I hope that my account will resonate with readers facing their own slough of despond, and show them that there is always hope.”
‘I’m Fine, Thanks’ by Chris Doveton is available now from the Abbey Shop, Waterstones, Amazon, WH Smith, Foyles and The Book Guild Publishing.
Find out more and contact Chris at www.chrisdoveton.com
* Chris will be interviewed about ‘I’m Fine, Thanks’ live on BBC Radio Somerset on Thursday 3rd September at 1.15pm *
