
From Ghanaian dance floors to global adventures, Richard Walker's memoir, Highlife, & my other lives is a celebration of love, music and resilience. Blending personal history with cultural exploration, it offers readers a poignant and adventurous journey through a remarkable life.
As a boy, Richard went to live in Ghana where he danced with his parents and their friends to Highlife music. This experience sets the tone for a life in which music, poetry, literature, theatre, art, travel, nature and love entwine. Performing at the Edinburgh Festival with Lauren, they became soulmates. The story weaves their enduring romance through a life that brought them adventures in many places: Thailand, Nigeria, India, Brazil, Cyprus, Greece. On the Peloponnese coast by a turtle beach, they create the perfect place to spend the rest of their lives together.
But their dream is shattered, as Lauren is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Despite the loss of the love of his life, Richard continues to live in the moment. Lauren accompanies him as he revisits the memories of their intriguing odyssey. Both irreverent and moving, this is a story that will inspire the reader to value each day as a unique adventure and experience.
"From its tragic, heartfelt lows to hilarious highs, Walker's personal odyssey lingers long in the mind." (Mark Townsend, The Guardian)
"Dice-rolling adventure with twists and surprises. Snakes, dad's double. Mr Auden's slippers." (John Hegley, poet)
"A joyful, intelligent celebration of music, literature and friendship." (Charlie Lee-Potter, writer & broadcaster)
"Empathetic and thoughtful, sometimes humorous, sometimes incredibly moving." (James Bluemel, film director)
"Highlife hits the high notes and holds them with an amazing kaleidoscope of memories." (Lisa St Aubin de Terán, writer)