The 4,300-Mile "Man in shorts" who wants to end cervical cancer within a generation
Laurence Carter's new book 'From Grief to Love' chronicles his cathartic 4,300-mile walk around England and Wales.
The book carries readers on an emotional journey, from his early grief at the loss of his wife, to finding the courage to love again.
But who is Laurence Carter? He talked with Jez Donaldson about his life, his walk, and his new mission.
Laurence was born in Dar Es Salaam in 1960. "I spent the first ten years of my life growing up there. We lived about 100 yards from the beach. It was an idyllic time."
When he was ten, the family moved to the Solomon Islands and then to the UK, where Laurence started school in Norwich.
"After school I took a year off and did a range of odd jobs," he says. "I worked as a street sweeper in Norwich.”
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| Melitta in 2007 |
"There was this young woman in a beautiful yellow dress [with] curly black hair,”
Melitta was an agricultural economist. They chatted and she invited Laurence to play tennis with her friends.
"She was a woman full of life. Vivacious, chatty," he enthuses, his voice glowing with the memory.
"She was full of opinions. I loved that,"
He was smitten. They married, spent 28 years together and had three children.
In October 2012, while living in Washington DC. Melitta received the results of a smear test which had been delayed several times. She had cervical cancer and needed emergency surgery.
In July 2013, after months of gruelling therapy, she received more results: the cancer had spread. She was given 12-18 months.
Melitta died in September 2015. She was 53 years old.
Laurence's biggest regret was that he didn't remind Melitta to do her smear test on time.
"She wasn't that late," he says
"about 3 or 4 months late…but that's the difference, in the end, between Stage 3 and Stage 4 cervical cancer."
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In spring 2017, Laurence had the idea of walking around the coastal paths of England and Wales. He wanted a way to publicise the importance of getting the HPV vaccine, and of regular screening, to the elimination of cervical cancer.
Laurence set a clear goal for the endeavour: ‘to raise awareness that we can eliminate cervical cancer within a generation’.
He partnered with Cancer Research UK, raising money for research, for awareness-raising and for lobbying to set a firm target for the elimination of the cervical cancer.
His first steps were taken, from Seaford on the English south coast, in June 2018. A year later, he arrived back at the same spot. He had walked the entire 4,314 miles wearing shorts, even in the depths of winter. In the process, he'd raised £80,000 for the charity.
The walk gave Laurence time to reflect. He stayed in hosted B&Bs, where he could spend time talking with the host, often over a glass of wine. The conversations gradually changed him and helped him to process his grief.
He also decided to write the book.
"The physical effort of walking around England was not difficult at all," he says; "writing the book was much harder. I struggled with that. It took five years."
Reflecting on how Melitta would have felt about his achievements, he modestly says: "I hope that she would be pleased."
Today, Laurence is in a better place, retired from his job and living in Bethesda, Maryland.
"Life is great!" he says. "I recently got engaged…I met my fiancée as a result of the walk…I see my three adult children frequently…overall, I'm a lucky guy."
Is he all walked-out now? Not at all. He still loves to walk and, fortunately, so does his new fiancée. They plan to head to her country of birth, South Korea, where Laurence wants to scope out the coastal trail.
"It's only 2,800 miles." he chuckles.
'From Grief to Love: Walking around England and Wales' is available on Amazon and elsewhere. All proceeds of sale for the next twelve months go to the British gynaecological cancer charity The Eve Appeal.
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