Rona's Wish to Speak
Born with cerebral palsy that impacted her mobility, dexterity and, most of all, her speech, Barnsley woman and Home Instead client, Rona Hurst, has fulfilled a lifelong ambition to put her life in print.
Assisted by Simon Beech, a fellow Barnsley resident and writer, the pair have published Rona’s life story in A Wish To Speak – a chronicle spanning nearly 60 years of Rona’s fight to prove herself.
“From an early age, my parents encouraged me to be as independent – ‘normal’ – as possible, and that left me always determined to live as full and active a life as possible.”
Rona and Simon met almost every Saturday, or sometimes more often, for three years. She would share her stories and memories, and he would make notes before writing them up during the week. They then emailed the manuscript back and forth until they were both happy with it.
Once they had settled on the parts of the book they felt would make the most interesting read, the real hard work began as they shaped them into a story.
“We read, reworked and rewrote the book so many times that we know it almost word for word.” said Rona. “We have certainly built a close working relationship. Recalling and writing up memories and stories, we’ve laughed, we’ve cried and, on some occasions, argued, but always managed to smooth things over. We share the same sense of humour and have become good friends.”
“I can’t count how many times people asked me to write my story, how I came to be the person I was. But I think there was also the idea that, on the page, I could tell it with a freedom that I never found in speech,” says Rona, now 58, retired from her longtime job in the NHS, and still resident in Barnsley.
Rona wanted some assistance with polishing her memoirs, and contacted Dearne Valley College, where she had studied a counselling course years before, where she was directed to Simon.
“When I read the notes Rona had written, I immediately related to what she said,” said Simon. “The need to overcome the challenges life throws at us, whoever we are. It’s universal.”
Rona wants people to get as much enjoyment from reading the book as she had writing it, but most of all, to be inspired.“There were a lot of things in my life, especially at the time I grew up when attitudes were very different from today, that I was told were not for me. And I did them anyway. Back then people living with disabilities weren’t necessarily supposed to get jobs, or even a full education – and as for driving cars, they could forget about that. I did all of those things and more! I hope it especially inspires people with disabilities to push themselves further and for their families to support them in striving to be the best they can be.
If it did that for just one person, I would be so proud and happy.”
Rona Hurst’s book, A Wish to Speak, is available now on Amazon.