Parkinsons Disease Society

All proceeds from the sale of every book will be donated to the Parkinson's Disease Society

Acknowledgement

My thanks to Richard Hames of MDH Insurance, Bedford, for his generosity in sponsoring the printing and publishing costs of this book.

‘Mr Martin you have early onset Parkinson's Disease’

Paul Martin was just 33 years old when he was diagnosed with Early Onset Parkinson's Disease. He had just started a new job, was living with his partner, Melissa, and they had been blessed with a beautiful little baby boy, Lucas. Paul was relishing his role as a new - if slightly naïve - Father, and had never been happier.

For six months he shut it out and refused to let the diagnosis sink in. He tried, simply, to get on with his life: the catalyst for a serious bout of depression. Referred for counselling he was encouraged to write down how he felt both emotionally and physically and slowly began to face the reality of his condition. The poems in No Rhyme or Reason are the result of one man’s struggle to confront PD and the emotional rollercoaster which ensued. His realisation that one day a PD sufferer can be brim full of optimism and the next can spiral toward the depths of despair will be recognised by other sufferers and their carers alike.

PD can be a lonely disease to live with and the author believes that if reading this helps even one person with the condition to realise they are not alone, then his work will not have been in vain.

Foreword written by Jane Asher - President Parkinson’s Disease Society

This is a fascinating and important book: not only as a collection of poetry to be enjoyed and admired, but also as a telling, sometimes shocking, reminder of the fact that Parkinson’s disease can strike at almost any age. The clichéd image of the elderly, trembling man as being typical of this complex, distressing disease is firmly dispatched in this candid expression of just what it can be like to be a young person living with Parkinson’s.

I’ve been involved with the PDS for many years now, and I am always struck by how especially tough it can be for those who are diagnosed at a young age. Anything that can help to spread awareness of the problems, thoughts and experiences of this younger age group with PD is to be welcomed, and Paul’s terrific poems do just that, in a wonderfully creative and emotive way.

I’m sure his thoughts will resonate with many others and, at the same time, raise some much needed funds for the PDS, helping us to support more people living with the condition and to move ever closer to our ultimate goal of finding a cure.