Reviews: Three Dads Walking (1)
“JUST AMAZING”
(Paperback)
by Chaptersofemx
The book follows Mike, Andy and Tim through their 300 mile walk from the Lakeland Fells to the Eastern Fens over 15 days. Each of the dads take a third of the book and each third is started with the story of their daughters, Sophie, Emily and Beth (arguably the hardest chapters to listen to!). Each of the dads do a great job of narrating their walk and (as I've recently explained to a friend) the book is a perfect mix between a history/ geography lesson and their life stories - you get a great mix of really understanding of their individual stories with a sprinkle of the great UK countryside! You can tell from the outset that these guys are just "genuine blokes" with Mike's love of Cumbria then throughout the book with the joy they all have with taking the other two dads on a tour of their local areas! It was joyous to listen to them discuss all of the people who joined them on the walk, each with their own stories, and how the support of those people really spurred them on - as well as their story being a support to each person who walked with them. I just loved the community feel throughout the whole book!! Part of the reason they walked was to get the conversation started and that was so evident throughout the book - all they wanted to do was talk and to reach everyone they could (as well as getting through each day!). It was funny to listen to each dad narrate the days from a slightly different perspective - with them all clearly having defined roles throughout their challenge - this was most evident at the end of the book when they all narrated their last day. As you can imagine there was a fair bit of tension at times throughout the walk and disagreements about the best course of action - which they seemed to be able to navigate quite well! Again with support from locals stopping them, the dads took advice on where to get some shorter routes and how to avoid wet paths! It was evident throughout the book that despite it being an amazing achievement to walk the 300 miles they did... this was not the point of their story. What they wanted was to raise awareness, get people talking and to raise the presence of PAPYRUS. As on the back of their book... "it's about the power of speaking out, friendship, laughter and courage (and blisters). The three dads bear a heavy load, but they walk on for all of us, finding light on the path after the darkest of times". Five years on from their 300 miles walk they are still making an impact to this day, not just with their book, or the money raised, they are continuing to campaign for suicide to be a part of the national curriculum, keeping conversations open and encouraging people to reach out in times of needs - whether contemplating ending their own lives or being one of the ones left in the wake of such a tragedy. I am obviously rating this book 5/5 stars - I cannot thank the dads enough for another amazing piece of work and I hope people continue to look into them and support! Whether you have been touched by suicide or not, I believe this book is definitely one everyone should take the time to read. To learn from and grow from the words of Mike, Andy and Tim. We should take from their stories and should continue to strive for better support out there for those in times of need and should continue to encourage people to reach out when needing support. Read as a member of the Lonely Hearts Book Club at Waterstones Gateshead
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Three Dads Walking

Three Dads Walking: 300 Miles of Hope

Non-Fiction, Biography & True Stories, Literary Biographies
Tim Owen (author) , Mike Palmer (author) , Andy Airey (author) , Dan Walker (foreword)
Hardback Published on: 04/04/2024
Price: £22.00
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