HoPE Storytelling Festival - Bounce Back Boy
Event created by Sam
Josh Cawley was 22 when he finally died from catastrophic injuries inflicted on him by his birth parents. These resulted in his inability to speak or to move from his wheelchair, but it didn’t dampen his positive and cheeky spirit. This is his story. Josh was adopted by Lynn Cawley, a campaigning Methodist Minister whose devotion to Josh ensured that he lived his short life as positively and ‘normally’ as possible. Lynn couldn’t just be his loving mum though. She was expected to be his palliative care consultant, his nurse, his campaigner for compensation and she had to fight the ongoing battles with the system .The play explores their real story: having to accept that Josh’s needs were too ‘complex’ for the hospice; and dealing with Josh’s transition from boy, to teenager to adult - and being his full-time interpreter.
.Professional actor Joseph Daniel-Taylor performs the play and gives the voice to Josh - the voice that he never had.
