This book only exists because of the astute judgement of my literary agent, Jane Burridge, who saw its potential when she first heard of our planned adventure. My publisher, Jane Palfreyman of Allen & Unwin, has been unwavering in her support, and her editorial colleagues Christa Munns and Aziza Kuypers have done a magnificent job in realising its potential.
It should be acknowledged that this adventure was more than a book. Sam’s progress was recorded and analysed by leading autism researcher Dr David Trembath, from Griffith University, and we are very grateful for his experience, knowledge and patience in guiding this research project to completion.
A special and heartfelt acknowledgement goes out to Jennifer Cummins and her team at Heiress Films, whose dedication to documenting this journey on film has been outstanding. The two producers who travelled to Africa with Sam and I, Max Bourke and Naomi Elkin-Jones, will always hold a special place in our hearts.
Also, a thank you is needed for hundreds of people who allowed themselves to be filmed with Sam. We were not refused on a single occasion.
On the road we met countless friendly fellow travellers, but I want to especially acknowledge Anka, Ed and Lana, Andy, Harri, my darling niece Juliette, Mike and Lenneke, Morton and Professor Matthew Rickard. We also stayed at many wonderful establishments, and our gratitude goes out to the staff of The Backpacker (Cape Town), Chameleon (Windhoek), Jollyboys (Livingstone), Jungle Junction (Zambezi River), Mabuya Camp (Lilongwe), Mushroom Farm (Livingstonia), Red Chilli (Kampala) and Noah’s Arc (Kapchowra), as well as the many other places we stayed.
Throughout Africa, Sam and I were blown away by the relaxed and welcoming manner of the local people. A special mention goes out to Etienne, Petra and Michael, Godfrey and Manga, Onesmo, Mama Grace and Erick, Kerri, Sr Leonida and Jerimiah. Our travel guides made time to connect with Sam and I acknowledge the wonderful efforts of all of them, but in particular Gabriel, Milner, Tuhafeni, Juma, Joseph and Ian.
Thanks to the teaching and support staff at Sam’s school, De La Salle College, Ashfield. They have been so supportive of Sam, before, during and after the trip.
Special thank you to my extended family for supporting Benison and my other sons while Sam and I were away. Particular gratitude goes to Roslyn and John Driscoll, without whom this trip would not have taken place, and Linda and Brendon Gregor, who backed us every step of the way. A big thanks also to Matthew and Nicholas, my older two boys, who also had to make many sacrifices for this ‘mad’ undertaking to occur, but never (or perhaps only rarely) complained, knowing of the importance of helping out Sam.
Finally, and most importantly, I would like to thank my wife, Benison O’Reilly. She is quite amazing, really. Her dedication and mother-love to Sam led to this quite extraordinary gift, and her superhuman resilience, intellect and compassion is what got us all through the process. She also gave me unending advice on the writing of this book; she is almost a co-author. Sam and I owe her so much, and we acknowledge her for the amazing person she is.