OLLIE

An exceptionally moving story about a courageous autistic boy, and the effect he had on all who knew him, written by his father, a successful mountaineer. â Like the swallows, Ollie came in the spring and left in the autumn. Dancing, singing, swooping â there was something birdlike about his energy, joy and laughter â but also the fleeting, transitory, enigmatic quality of his life. At the age of two he lost the ability to speak, when autism turned his life â and ours â into a baffling challenge. Then at four he almost died from Leukemia. Chemotherapy worked its magic, but at six he had a relapse. He fought hard and made a full recovery. Then, just six months from the Official All Clear, a brain tumour was discovered. After a brave struggle, he died very suddenly. His body had gone into meltdown. He was twelve. â This is not a story of passive suffering or failure. Ollie had extraordinary courage. Time after time he bounced back, determined to enjoy life. He had astonishing endurance.â â I would like to explore the journey we made with Ollie and to tell his story. Unlike a mountaineer, pursuing extreme experiences for self-gratification, he had difficulty thrust upon him â his courage was real. For me, too, although I did not have to do all the physical pain and suffering, the journey was far more compelling than any expedition.â From the Hardcover edition.