About Oliver
On 10 September 2019 at 8 a.m., we discovered the body of our beloved Oli, lying peacefully at the bottom of a swimming pool in Menorca. It was the first day of our long-awaited family holiday. He was 25 years old.
The subsequent diagnosis was that he had suffered from ‘sudden adult death syndrome’. He had died unexpectedly, doing something he loved, taking a late-night swim. We are still trying to come to terms with our loss, and our lives will never be the same again.
Oli had a zest for life. In his 25 years, he achieved more than many do in a lifetime. He was a qualified snowboarding instructor, diving instructor, electronic music producer and English teacher. He was gentle, kind and humble.
He had travelled extensively, living in Whistler, Thailand and America. He was just about to embark on another chapter. Two weeks after our holiday, he was due to travel to China to teach English in a school. Not bad for a dyslexic boy who wasn’t well served by our education system.
We miss him desperately.
In the days following his death, we were introduced to his writing on Quora where he had been answering questions and helping others, but doing so anonymously without seeking recognition or reward.
He had told us he was doing this, under a pseudonym, but that he wanted no one he knew to know. He wanted to write freely and without judgement.
He said the way the world voted on his work would be enough and that he would tell us his pseudonym when he felt the time was right. We respected his wishes and said we looked forward to reading his work when he was ready for us to do so.
We discovered his pseudonym far too soon, whilst attending to matters in the days after his death. He had chosen a cool name, Sam Leaper, hence the title of this book.
As we read his posts, we experienced so many emotions. We cried, we laughed, we marvelled and we learned. We shared with friends and family, and they did the same. Our wonderful Oli had wisdom beyond his years.
We immediately realised we wanted to share his work with those who knew and loved him to help them with the grieving process.
We decided to publish a book.
His book, his words
But there is a higher purpose to this book.
The morning he died, Oli’s younger siblings, Alex and Max, said they wanted to build a school in his honour—something meaningful to come out of a tragedy. Together as a family, we had built a school in Africa in 2013 and raised funds to build a further three in the year that followed. Having witnessed the impact, we hoped one day to build more.
Upon reading Oli’s articles on Quora we saw his list of what he wanted to be true when he died, we were struck by his desire to leave the world a better place. Whilst he certainly enriched our lives beyond measure, we have decided to share his story, his work, and in doing so build 100 more schools in his name.
All proceeds from the book will go towards this endeavour to which fundraising has already begun through our charitable foundation The Magic Future Foundation. A Just Giving Page has been established for donations in his honour.
