This is the true story of how a ten-year-old’s charity challenge led through young philanthropy to a calling in medicine. Recalled by the girl as a young woman, it is a light-hearted but poignant memoir of parent-child journey, set amid the cultural and natural heritage of a beautiful part of the world.
May gives a moving account of a trek prompted initially by bereavement. Clashes of attitudes and interests give the dialogue a playful vein; but as the miles go by, often with no other person in sight, father and daughter find new depths of conversation. Relics of war prompt her to ask of past generations, whose legacies he tries to convey; and as she reconnects him with childhood, its innocence and imagination, both see their worlds from new perspectives.
Having made front-page news their venture bears lasting fruit. She raises enough for a permanent endowment providing grants from its income, giving her a role in selecting local charities, and allowing her to see their work at first hand. As a budding musician she gains insight into the therapy that music can bring, and while still at school she becomes a recorded composer; meanwhile, seeing different forms of disability and treatment, she learns what fulfilment can be gained from making a difference.
Warmly received as an enchanting and inspirational story, ‘Fifty Miles with my Dad’ is a celebration of quality time and of rewards from philanthropy that are open to all.

Author Biography

May de la Rue is a medical student who was born in Suffolk and educated locally before moving to Rugby School, where she was a chorister, clarinettist and studied composition. A requiem she composed was recorded at its premiere performance on Remembrance Day 2016 by the school’s choral society and the Bliss Sinfonia. The following year she began studying medicine at Bristol University. Committed to young philanthropy, she is closely involved in grant-giving from the endowment established with Suffolk Community Foundation by her fundraising walk in 2009, as described in this book.

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