Coughing It All Up

Hello, my name is Luke Peters. Thank you for visiting my Crowdfunder campaign. 

The aim of the campaign

The aim of this campaign is to raise funds to enable my book ‘Coughing It All Up - Chronicles of a Remarkable Life Despite Cystic Fibrosis’ to be published. My hope is that the book will increase awareness of the chronic health condition cystic fibrosis (CF) and will also raise funds for the UK’s leading charity for the condition, the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

20% of all proceeds from sales of the book will be donated to this charity, as well as 20% of our crowdfunding target. Most importantly though, I hope that 'Coughing It All Up' conveys a message to all those with CF, as well as their families, that despite the condition, having CF does not mean that you can’t achieve or experience as much as anyone else.    

If you would like to know more about what CF is, I recommend watching this short video, produced by the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

Further details about the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and their valuable work can be found here:

www.cysticfibrosis.org.uk

About the book

When I was born in 1972, my parents were told that I would spend much of my childhood in hospital and that I would be lucky to reach my teenage years. Yet almost fifty years on, I am still alive, still going (relatively) strongly and I remain as determined as ever to keep pushing the boundaries that my wavering health imposes upon me. I am also determined to help others in my situation realise that they, too, can have a full and incredible life despite living with a chronic condition.

Written when I was on the waiting list for a double-lung transplant, 'Coughing It All Up' examines the ways in which I have strived to live my life to the full. It explores the many setbacks I have faced along the way, and my vehement pursuit of being just like 'everyone else'. 

'Coughing It All Up' is not simply a treatise about cystic fibrosis – or even lung transplantation. Nor is it a medical journal of any kind. It is certainly not solely about illness or being unwell. In fact, there are many moments of humour and brightness throughout the book.

My life’s journey has seen me spend large swathes of time in hospital, take almost a million tablets, and reach the very darkest depths of hopelessness. It has also seen me come very close to losing my life on more than one occasion. 

But it has also allowed me to experience an extraordinary 48 years. From obtaining two degrees to enjoying successful careers in aviation and the law. From travelling to over 40 countries worldwide to obtaining my private pilot's licence and witnessing a space shuttle launch first-hand. From living both in the USA and in France to having children of my own. And from attending the same school as that attended by Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, to meeting Richard Branson on my very first day at work.

These are all just some of the events described in the book, set against the backdrop that a life with CF imposes. A backdrop that anyone who has or is connected to CF will recognise all too well.

The book begins as I embark on the most difficult stage of my journey to date, as I am placed on the waiting list for a double lung transplant; a medical procedure of such magnitude that it could either save my life... or end it. 

I wrote ‘Coughing It All Up’ to occupy my time while I waited on that list, but also for my children in case I didn’t survive the wait, or the operation, or if the call never came for me to receive new lungs. 

But now, I want to share my book with you too. Because I survived to tell the tale, and if that tale can help even one other person who is in a similar situation, then I will feel eternally grateful. 

The campaign

This campaign aims to raise £8,000 in order to cover the costs of production and publication and to bring the book to market. 

It is a large book (approximately 450 pages) and is subsequently going to be expensive in terms of both production and editorial costs to bring to market.

Reaching this target will allow for a further one-off payment of £1,600 to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, in addition to a 20% share of royalties from sales of the book going forward. Our target figure breaks down as follows:    

Editing and proofreading (as I said, it's quite a long book!) - £3,000
Crowdfunding, publishing support and ISBNs - £1000
Crowdfunding reward costs - £2,400
Charitable donation - £1,600
Total = £8,000

Our timeline

If our campaign is successful, Coughing It All Up will be published on Amazon and available through all good book stores in September 2020. You will receive your rewards shortly before publication day.

Thank you

I do hope that you are able to pledge financial support to this campaign and I am very grateful for any amount you can offer. You can either simply donate an amount of your choice, or alternatively select one of the reward packages on offer. I have tried to make the rewards both exciting and great value for money.

The book itself will retail for £14.99 in paperback format and £6.99 in eBook format. Hardbacks will be strictly limited editions and we also have some fantastic original cover art available.

But if you can’t pledge, that's absolutely fine – all I ask is that you consider sharing the campaign with anyone who might be interested, so that it can achieve the objectives set out above and so that my experiences with CF can be shared as widely as possible. 

If you have any questions about this project, CF or, indeed, me – please do get in touch. You can do so via the links at the top of this page. And if you'd like to read an extract from the book, you can see two exclusive scenes down below.

Thank you very much. 

Luke