The Bigger Picture
Price as reviewed:
£11.95 paperback
The Bigger Picture
Author: Claire Lomas
Published: 2022
Available as paperback (ISBN 978-0-9927990-3-8) and ebook (ISBN 978-0-9927990-4-5)
£1 from each book will be donated to Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation
View now at claireschallenge.co.uk
About The Bigger Picture by Claire Lomas
The Bigger Picture is former event rider turned inspirational speaker and fundraiser Claire Lomas’s second autobiography, following on from Finding My Feet, which was published in 2014. Never one to miss an opportunity, Claire took the shut down of almost everything caused by the coronavirus pandemic as the chance to once again put pen to paper and update her fans with the remarkable rollercoaster that is her life.
Self-published with a foreword written by her husband Dan, who as a sufferer of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) describes himself as “Claire’s challenge” – which is the banner under which all of Claire’s fundraising efforts take place, the book is an honest and open account of the highs and lows of Claire’s life as a wife, mother of two daughters, and so much more. The book touches lightly on the early days after her accident that lead to her paralysis, as these are covered extensively in Finding My Feet, before moving on to more recent events.
Claire is pictured on the cover sat in her wheelchair beside the tree at Osberton that lead to her paralysis in a fall in May 2007.
Review
Firstly, you do not need to have read Finding My Feet to enjoy – and benefit from – reading The Bigger Picture by Claire Lomas. Each of the 51 short chapters focuses on an event in Claire’s life in a loosely chronological order, with a little jumping back and forth as events overlap at times.
While Claire’s story is well known, the book gives genuine insight into both the day-to-day challenges she faces when undertaking seemingly simple tasks that most of us take for granted, such as dropping her two girls at school, through to how much is involved in setting up any of her fundraising challenges, and how she’s come to learn to ride a motorbike and fly a plane. She is also open about the difficulties she has faced in her marriage, the impact of Dan’s OCD on them both, and how they’ve managed to get through some very rocky periods.
Throughout the book, key sentences that offer important takeaways for the reader are highlighted. Some of these are Claire’s own thoughts – “There will be setbacks but we must rise back up and keep moving forwards” – while others are attributed to their authors – “Don’t limit your challenges, challenge your limits” Jerry Dunn. While they sit comfortably in the prose, they often made me stop and think, giving this book real value beyond simply being an enjoyable and inspirational read.
About the author
Claire Lomas is a former event rider who was left paralysed from the chest down following a collision with a tree while competing at Osberton Horse Trials in May 2007. Since her accident she has raised more than £825,000 for charity, is a renowned motivational speaker, rides motorbikes on track days, is a qualified pilot and mum to two girls.
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