Jon Best

Jon Best resides in Cornwall, UK and was diagnosed with young onset PD at the age of 35 in 2007. Jon has relied on writing, including poetry and short stories, as a way to express himself and to process the emotions that resulted from his diagnosis and from a difficult separation in 2013. Jon’s writing career began about 11 years ago when he has signed up for a trek to Machu Picchu. To help publicize and raise funds for the trip, Jon began to write stores and articles. He was surprised to learn that local newspapers eagerly receive articles pre-written for them. Over time, as his confidence grew, his writing became increasingly important for him.

He was a bit nervous when he first began publishing but says that all five of his books have been well received. He’s been astonished to learn that people from around the world have purchased these books and pleased that he is able to donate resulting profits to charity. Jon has never subscribed to the idea that it was Parkinson’s itself cause him start writing, but he does acknowledge that Parkinson’s shifted some of his life goals and that is a factor. When asked to give asked to others out there who may also be interested in publishing some of their works, Jon said:

Write if you want to and write what you want to. It doesn’t matter how experienced or inexperienced you are if you have a story to tell and share emotion with honesty, someone will connect with it.