Wigan man who was illiterate as a child has published his first book

Darren Turnerhurst, who lives in Ince, has learning difficulties, including dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia, and finds they exacerbate each other.

He struggled at school as he could not read or write, but he finally learned when he reached his late teens.

Darren said: “I have had a lot of difficulty with reading and writing. My mum sat me down and made me read the Goosebumps books. That’s how I ended up learning to read and write.”

Despite being illiterate as a child, Darren, 37, says he has always had a love of stories.

"When I was struggling reading and writing, I would listen to audio books, I loved movies, even video games with storylines,” he said.

“I forced myself into reading. I did some exercises which are suppose to stimulate the brain. Years ago there was clinic in Manchester where they gave me exercises to do.”

When the pandemic began, he really tested out his writing skills.

Darren said: “When Covid happened, I came back from northern Italy, from a holiday, and had to isolate because I had a bit of a cough.

"I was bored and thought I would do something, so I decided to see if I could write a book.”

Darren spent 10 months writing and relied on technology due to his learning difficulties.

His book – entitled The Dream Merchant – is set in the 1990s and sees a thief steal a device which can record people’s dreams onto a VHS tape. He uses it to help his granddaughter, who is having nightmares, but finds they start to affect him.

Meanwhile, the daughter of the device’s inventor is trying to get it back by any means.

Darren describes it as a mixture of genres, including crime and horror, with supernatural elements.

It was picked up by Pegasus Publishers and is now available to buy, with Darren delighted to see his book in print.

He said: “It was like a dream come true. It was absolutely fantastic. It seemed surreal, to be honest.

"I did a book signing at Waterstones and was sitting there thinking, ‘what am I doing? Why are people coming over to me?’”

So far the response has been positive and Darren, who works as a personal assistant for a man with autism, has started writing his second book.

He said: “The next one is a supernatural thriller, but not a horror. It’s doing to be set during the 1940s and 1960s. It’s about a ghost, a man who did in the Second World War whose spirit is in France, in the place he died.”

He hopes to show other people that learning difficulties should not stop them achieving their dreams.

Darren said: “You can do anything. Learning difficulties are a barrier, but it’s a barrier you can jump over.

"When I was a kid and even in my early 20s, I believed I couldn’t do anything. I was down in the dumps and thought there was no future for me, I couldn’t really do anything.

"Writing this book has given me a lot of confidence.”