A Mansfield man has used his experience of fighting cancer as the inspiration for his second book.

Chris Walker said Falling off the Cliff was aimed at people facing serious illness or those who know someone starting out on a similar journey.

It is a true story of a person who went through a life-changing illness and also survived a worldwide pandemic.

Starting in France, the journey follows the author going through what he calls climbing up that cliff again.

Chris said: “It’s a story to be read by anyone who is facing illness or their loved one helping that person ‘up the cliff.

“It is dedicated to all the wonderful people who work in the NHS.”

Chris used the covid lockdowns to write the story and his first book, Letter To My Grandchildren.

That is about the first 20 years of his life, his time growing up in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, and the many changes since then.

“I thought I would write and print a book for my grandchildren to read later in their lives,” he said.

“It is about my experiences of growing up.

“The book is social history because it shows the changes that have happened since the 1960s.”

Chris spent his early years in Blidworth Bottoms with his great- grandmother, before his parents moved to Warsop Lane, Rainworth.

His first school was Python Hill Infants in the village and he remembers watching the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on a then rare television at a friend’s house.

Chris said: “The area where I lived was surrounded by coal mines, which have now all disappeared.”

An engineer who later went into the photographic industry, Chris retired aged 55 before doing part-time work until he was 68, when he developed the serious illness that is the subject for his second book.

Chris has a YouTube channel called Old Stagsfan where there is a short video about Falling off the Cliff.

The books are dedicated to his wife, Sandra, two children, and two grandchildren.

Falling off the Cliff can be bought at Amazon or from Maxam Printing as a paperback.