A book about loss and hope

Ollie & Ada has been published by The Book Guild Ltd at £8.99 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and WH Smith.

Joseph, aged 41, said: “After suffering grief at a young age (I lost my mother to cancer at 16) it was always an ambition to write a book about loss, bereavement but also hope. Writing my debut novel was something I felt I needed to do to perhaps help others who are struggling.

“Ten years of commuting between Brighton and London gave me the opportunity.

“I would sometimes travel for up to five hours a day and decided this time could be better spent working on the book I had always hoped to write.

“Most of my work was written on cramped commuter trains that often did not have room to sit down, but I was so determined I made notes using my mobile. Slowly but surely the process began, I set myself daily targets and it took the best part of ten years, but soon enough words turned into chapters.

“It was very easy to identify with my characters, I found writing almost therapeutic. I understand my subject matter and appreciate just how crushing grief can be. The sorrow, the hurt and heartache.

“But this book is about hope also, about love and that from trauma tranquillity can be found. I hope that his book can help others who are suffering from the loss of a loved one and realise that happy endings do exist. This book was almost like therapy.

“The novel Ollie and Ada follows two characters who meet in a bereavement support class as they navigate the pressures of their new relationship while they both continue to grieve. They attempt to encourage one another to heal but the delicate and challenging environment makes this a difficult task.

“There’s an instant attraction but both are lost broken souls who need to find the road to recovery.

“Despite the tragic environment, they find themselves in, they hope together that love can heal heartache but in this most delicate and challenging of environments, danger lurks at every turn.

“Will they push each other along or will the demands of a new relationship cause them to crash and burn as crushing grief threatens to take over everything consuming them both?

“They will need to find strength, courage and rediscover their self-worth. The path of true love seldom runs smoothly. Can the pair leap from hopelessness to happiness or will fate have other ideas?

“One thing is for sure, life will never be the same again...

“I have begun the sequel.”