15th August, 15 Tors for 15 Years

1st August 2026 will mark the beginning of the 15th year since the sudden death by suicide of Josh, our much loved and missed 20-year-old son, the loss of whom broke our hearts and changed us and our lives forever.

During the fog of our early grief, we met Jane and Jimmy Edmonds, also in early grief following the sudden loss of their son Joshua. We soon learned that there is nothing quite like spending time with other bereaved parents who just “get it”, often with an equal measure of tears and laughter - who knew grief could be so complicated? We navigated parts of our early grief alongside Jane and Jimmy who later channelled their grief into creating The Good Grief Project, a Charity supporting other bereaved parents and siblings. The Charity now hold two grief retreat weekends per year, each of which costs £14,000 to run, with a number of places heavily subsidised to enable those on lower incomes to attend. The Good Grief Project was formed 10 years ago and, to date, these retreats have helped over 250 bereaved families find new meaning and renewed confidence following the death of a much-loved son, daughter, brother or sister. Approximately 6,000 young people under the age of 25 die in the UK every year, leaving up to 50,000 newly bereaved parents, siblings, and friends.

THE CHALLENGE

On 15th August, in memory of Josh, and to raise valuable funds for The Good Grief Project’s grief retreat weekends, we will be taking on The Dartmoor 15 High Tors Challenge. This will involve a 20-mile trek over Dartmoor’s wildest terrain, climbing and descending some 2,000 metres of elevation in order to ascend 15 of Dartmoor’s highest tors. All in 10 hours!

As well as the physical challenge, it is also about coming together with other bereaved parents and siblings in a supportive way to remember and honour our loved ones who died too soon.

Thank you so much for any support you feel able to offer.

Deb and Nick