THE Northglen News is giving away a copy of Out on a Limb, a collection of short stories written by Glenhills resident, Nick Skipworth-Michell.
The autobiographical book is divided into two parts, with the first part telling the story of Skipworth-Michell’s life in Rhodesia (current day Zimbabwe) and the second part detailing his move to South Africa to pursue a career in the retail industry.
“There are about 60 chapters- I wrote it in the way I like to read a book. The first thing I do when I pick up a book is look at the length of the chapters. I prefer to have small bites when reading a book, so you can complete a chapter,” he said. Skipworth-Michell said a central theme of the book is inspiring people with disabilities.
He was serving in the Rhodesian Army when he lost his leg to cancer.
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“I wasn’t discharged from the Military after that, I was kept on for three years to serve as a medic,” he said. “Life doesn’t end because you have a disability. There are all sorts of things you can get up to and those are all demonstrated in the book,” added Skipworth-Michell.
The book was inspired by a family project which began five years ago with his brother, Dan Skipworth-Michell.
“My brother, Dan and I lived separate lives- he grew up in England and I in Rhodesia, which is now Zimbabwe. We were never that close until our late 30s when we started to visit each other. I started to share stories about what had been happening while we were living separate lives. He thought I’d lived a fairly adventurous life and suggested I write the stories down for prosperity so his children’s children could have a family history,” he said.
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He sent the stories to his brother who suggested he publish a book, and took on the role of editor.
“After Dan had received a flood of stories, he said he thought it would make a good book. I took all the stories I’d been sending him and, in got advice from other authors on how to put it into a readable story, because I had no idea how to even begin writing a book. And that’s how it was born- more by accident than intent,” he said.
Skipworth-Michell has also published Operation Enterprise, which tells the story of the Battle of Salisbury.
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