Braveheart Summer

Summer 1966. A family holiday to France becomes a journey of discovery, friendship and growing confidence.

Eight-year-old Nicholas is small for his age, has ginger hair and freckles, and knows what it feels like to be singled out at school. When the summer holidays finally arrive, he is more than ready to leave his worries behind and set off with his parents and older sister, Sandra, on an exciting two-week camping adventure in France.

Travelling by ferry and road into the French countryside, Nicholas encounters a world filled with new sights, tastes and experiences. From seaside campsites and warm croissants to snorkelling, football, bustling villages and unexpected friendships, every day brings something different.

Yet beneath the excitement, Nicholas carries fears and insecurities that cannot simply be left at home. Through the reassurance of family, the kindness of new friends and the challenges he encounters along the way, he begins to understand that courage is not about never being afraid, but about finding the confidence to keep going.

Warm, nostalgic and deeply personal, Braveheart Summer is a childhood memoir of family holidays, friendship, resilience and growing up, capturing the sights and spirit of 1960s France through the eyes of a young boy.

Inspired by the author's treasured family photographs and his father's diary, it is a heartfelt celebration of the experiences that stay with us long after childhood has passed.