Author Description

The inspiring true story behind the hit film starring Joanne Froggatt and Tom Riley. A heart-breaking, yet hugely inspirational, memoir about a family devastated but unbeaten by sepsis, and how they rebuilt their lives. Tom Ray put his young daughter to bed one chilly December evening, feeling that he had everything he could ever want – a happy home, a beautiful wife, and a second baby on the way. But the very next morning all of this was threatened, as Tom succumbed to the devastating illness that is sepsis. Starfish is the inspirational story of Tom and Nicola Ray, and their lives before, during, and after the illness that claimed Tom’s lower arms, legs, and a portion of his face. Harrowing and heartbreakingly honest, Starfish is a testament to the love and hope that kept their family together and has helped them to rebuild their lives. PRAISE FOR STARFISH: ʻThis book is a powerful, first-hand account of the devastating effects of sepsis - but it's so much more than that… it's about the difficult, beautiful, painful, funny, hopeful love that carries a family step by step, day by day, with the kind of humour and resilience that can genuinely inspire and change other lives.’ Kindle Customer ‘I thought this book would be harrowing. Of course it is, in part. But over and above that it is a powerful story of the strength of the human spirit. It is a love story. An inspiration. An honest and personal account of a family who survived an absolute crisis. And well written to boot!’ Kindle Customer Tom and Nicola Ray met at university. They had successful careers in writing (Tom) and film-making (Nicola) and married in 1998. In December 1999, Tom contracted sepsis and consequently had four amputations and facial surgery. That event, and those that followed, are the subject of Starfish, which was made into a film starring Joanne Froggatt and Tom Riley in 2016.