Ryan Redman - Rescue at the Cliff: a brave, courageous very young teen

Rescue at the cliffs: A very young teen saves a life 

I have often written in this blog about how so many young people prove capable of acts beyond their years.  As readers of my books will know, I also put many of my young fiction characters into similar situations. 

This blog post is dedicated to another young person, a not-at-all-big 13-year-old named Ryan Redman, who clambered down a 30-foot cliff, jumped into the ocean, and swam out to rescue an older lady in trouble.  He got her to safety, then climbed back up the cliff to arrange for help to be called, and then climbed back down the cliff to help comfort the woman until help arrived.  Oh, and by the way, the cliff face was wet because it had been raining.

The rescue took place a few days ago in southwest England, and the complete story is detailed in London’s Daily Mail.  As one of the persons commenting on the story notes, this boy showed braveness, selflessness, maturity, compassion, kindness and guts beyond compare.

Ryan Redman is a great example of what young people can do.  I base all of the young fictional characters in my books on real young people such as Ryan; those I knew as a young person myself, or those young people whom I have had the good fortune to meet in my life, or those whose stories are told in the media.  Even so, I still get an occasional book review stating that I have put my fictional characters into a situation that might be a little beyond belief as far as their age is concerned.  Every now and then, I will respond to those reviews with another example of what real young people can accomplish.  Ryan’s rescue is just another example of a young person who has done something truly amazing, and I am truly humbled.

 Wil