Stand Up And Be Counted

At fifty-two, Steve Blackmoor left his job in transport to become an independent funeral celebrant. He had spent much of his life preparing to serve others. Finding where he belonged had taken rather longer.

Stand Up and Be Counted follows that search from a Black Country childhood through rock bands, marriage, fatherhood and ministry in the Church of England. An unexplained encounter in a monastery gives the book its title-and Steve a conviction that survives rejection, personal failure and profound changes in his faith.

He writes candidly about the decisions he regrets, the people who stood by him and the difficulty of giving his own family the attention he so readily offered others. Along the way are unexpected moments of humour, a lifelong attachment to James Bond and the discovery that the work he loves can still leave important questions unanswered.

Through years spent alongside bereaved families, Steve finds a freedom and confidence he once struggled to imagine. Yet helping others remember a life also forces him to consider how he is spending his own.

For anyone who has questioned their worth or wondered whether the opportunity to change direction has passed, this is a personal account of finding meaningful work later in life-and learning to make room for living beyond it.