Foreword by Heather Cross

I had to give up going out for New Years Eve in 2000, so I could be sitting in Westmead hospital waiting for my brother to arrive from America. I would jump up, anxiously checking every ambulance that came through. Sitting back down, I continued to look at the latest arrival. I realised it was James. I couldn’t go to him at first, I was too shocked. How could this be my larger than life brother? I mean I knew he was sick but I didn’t expect him to be so thin and frail.
I was there for most of my brother’s journey, I knew all the facts, but it was not until working on this book that I realised that this story is bigger than James; it is about the way God responds to our Faith and how we can respond to his Grace. ‘Pilgrimage to Life’ is a true story that is at times dramatic, moving, deeply spiritual and still retains James’ sense of humour.
The book has been compiled from recordings of conversations with James, interviews with friends, extracts from his soul-searching journals and from the poems he wrote during his experience. As such it is a highly personal account. It is a story of universal themes such as Faith, Hope and Love, expressed in language relevant to him.

The questions that James struggles with are not unique. They have been asked by millions of young people struggling to find ultimate meaning.

Let me say now for the record that James is not some sort of saint; he was just an ordinary young guy who had the chance to experience an extraordinary journey. As is often the case suffering gave him an insight that he may otherwise never have gained.

We are told in Ecclesiasticus 2:1-5
“My child, if you aspire to serve the Lord,
prepare yourself for an ordeal.
Be sincere of heart, be steadfast,
and do not be alarmed when disaster comes.
Cling to him and do not leave him… Whatever happens to you, accept it, and in the uncertainties of your humble state, be patient”

He doesn’t have all the answers and this is not a book of answers but rather one of questions. I hope that by reading it you will find that it is possible to ask the hard questions and that the important thing is not just the answers but the journey.