My Mum, Andrea, fell ill on the day I launched  my poetry show. Two weeks later (April, 2014) she died of a liver abscess. She was 71.

Andrea's life was often a troubled one due to mental illness. This first manifested itself at university in the 1960's and she was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In the ensuing years there were some terrible times and some aggressive treatments. Throughout, Andrea was incredibly brave and in the good times, she never lost her vivaciousness.

Andrea loved to write and greatly encouraged  my poetry. I am raising funds for MIND and will trek Mount Toubkal in Morocco in September 2015. There I will scatter Mum's ashes so that she finally rests where she belongs - on top of the world!

In her later years Mum benefited from the support of a community psychiatric nurse and cognitive and psychotherapy. I hope we can help others like Andrea receive similar support and therapy which, together with love and understanding, is often so vital to recovery. 

Please note I am self funding this trip so ALL donations will go directly to MIND.

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