A PENSIONER from Hampshire is hoping to bolster confidence in other older people with his new book, which he has dubbed a defence manual for the elderly.

Stuart Nash, 77, has written The Elderly Semi-Detached Crusader under the pseudonym of Abi Shan. 

He said it was akin to a flight safety manual designed to help you get from A to B.

Mr Nash wanted elderly people to ‘take confidence’ from his book and come away from it with ‘practical solutions’ on how to prepare for ‘all kinds of situations’.

He said these situations ranged from being ‘attacked’, ‘confronted’, and ‘burgled’, to the general challenges that the aging population faces.

Stuart Nash and his book Stuart Nash and his book (Image: Supplied)

Born in Southampton and now living near Alton, Mr Nash has observed the rapid urbanisation and changes in many parts of Hampshire. His decision to write his book was partially inspired by the changes in his local community.

He said he wanted his book to resonate with those like him who may be divorced, widowed, or generally isolated.

Mr Nash, who describes himself as a 'somewhat grizzled, mutilated old warhorse, who delights in his grandchildren', had little publishing experience prior to The Elderly Semi-Detached Crusader aside from scientific papers, but his experiences with writing reports as a TA in the Royal Army Medical Corps department meant the words came naturally to him.

He said: "The book does what it says on the tin, really. It’s a defence manual for the elderly."

He said his book ‘doesn’t really fit into a genre’, and functions as a manual.

He added: "If you are 15-30 years old, you are busy courting, down the pub, or playing on your games console… If you are 30-50 years old, you are overwhelmed being married,  a father, or running your own business, or sorting your pension... But if you are over 50, widowed, widower, divorced, retired,  a single mum, dependant grandchildren, a landowner, smallholder, or live in an isolated position then, you MUST buy this book."

The book has been published by Riverside Publishing Solutions Ltd and costs £9.99 and can be bought from Waterstones or other good book stores (ISBN: 9781917056151). 

  • This article was written by Daisy Fuller