For the Love of Darlo
is the inspirational autobiography of multi-award-winning writer and Darlington FC devotee Paul Hodgson, who overcame severe disability to achieve his ambitions.
When Paul was seven months old, he was struck down by meningitis and left severely disabled. On being sent to boarding school in 1973, he had almost no speech, had to be propped up and could neither dress nor feed himself. But by the time he left, he could sit up unaided and talk, albeit with a stammer, and also feed himself. Paul praises the staff who helped him, but sadly, there were bad experiences with other staff members, which Paul reveals in the book.
Before he started at boarding school, Paul's mum surprised him by taking him to see Darlington FC. It was a watershed moment. He became a fan for life.
As well as charting his 50 years as a Darlo fan, Paul's story offers a unique insight into what it was like to grow up in a 'special school' in the unenlightened 1970s. It's a tale of triumph over extreme adversity.