Letting Go

Alex Hanscombe’s powerful, inspirational account as seen on This Morning, BBC Breakfast, Newsnight and in The Sunday Times, Mail on Sunday and The Sun.

‘I was the most famous child in the British Isles…’

The stunning and heartbreaking story of the young son of Rachel Nickell – who witnessed the brutal attack on his mother and whose childhood was shaped by the media storm that followed. A coming-of-age story that begins with a tragedy but ends in optimism, forgiveness and peace.

On a beautiful July morning in 1992, just three weeks before his third birthday, Alex Hanscombe and his young mother, Rachel Nickell, went walking on Wimbledon Common. Life was never the same again. Shortly after ten o’clock that morning, Alex was discovered by the side of his mother’s body – she had been assaulted, stabbed forty-nine times in a frenzied attack, and left dead. Alex was the only witness to the attack.

Letting Go is Alex’s heartbreaking account of that morning, the aftermath, and the devastating effect on his father, the extended family and the wider community. Alex tells the story of the resulting media storm, the legal cases following and the peace and understanding that he has now found, as a young man. In telling his story, and the truth, this is the last stage of Alex’s incredible journey to letting go.

Reviews

‘Surprisingly free of bitterness’ (Sunday Times)

‘A remarkable bond’ (The Guardian)

‘A remarkable journey to forgiveness’ (Mail on Sunday)

‘Inspirational…what a man’ (BBC Radio 2, Jeremy Vine)

‘Beautifully written’ (BBC Radio London, Vanessa Feltz)

‘Remarkably uplifting’ (BBC Breakfast TV, Charlie Stayt)

‘A remarkable capacity for forgiveness. The key to it is in the title of his book, Letting Go.’ (Good
Housekeeping)

‘A story symbolised by photos that are so seeped in love that they’ve stayed with us all these years’ (New!
Magazine)

About the author

After an early career as a mechanic, Alex Hanscombe followed his passion for music and moved back to London to train as a session musician. In recent years, he has travelled extensively in Africa and Asia, and studied yoga in India, where he returns frequently. He is a qualified hypnotherapist and is currently studying handwriting analysis while dividing his time between London, Spain and India. Alex remains close to his father with whom he is working on a series of children’s stories.