AN Athersley woman’s wish to speak and be heard has been granted thanks to a new book.

Rona Hurst has collaborated with author Simon Beech to tell her life story about living with cerebral palsy.

Rona, who is now 58, endured a tough start to life and admitted in the book that her own mum was frequently advised to give her up for adoption.

One particularly stinging quote was: “Send it away. It will never be any good. Never walk or talk.”

Rona’s mum insisted to a doctor that ‘Rona and I will prove you wrong’.

And so they did.

Rona said: “I can’t count how many times people asked me to write my story, how I came to be the person I was.

“But I think there was also the idea that, on the page, I could tell it with a freedom that I never found in speech.”

Simon said: “Rona had studied counselling at Dearne Valley College and then got in touch saying she wanted help writing a book.

“It was forwarded onto me as one of the English staff and I was drawn to it.

“When I read the notes Rona had written, I immediately related to what she said, the need to overcome the challenges life throws at us, whoever we are. It’s universal.

“Rona has been on quite a journey.

“It was a very different time back then and some parts of the book are hard-hitting but it’s also relatable too.

“The book is called a Wish To Speak and although it took her longer to learn to stand and walk as well the biggest obstacle for Rona was her speech impairment.

“We definitely built up quite a close working relationship through the process.”

The book tells Rona’s personal story of the challenges she’s faced, the prejudice she has had to endure and how she has overcome it all.

The book is available to buy on Amazon.