Transworld to publish jockey Declan Murphy's memoir

Transworld is publishing Centaur, a memoir and collaboration between the former jockey Declan Murphy and debut author Ami Rao.

Murphy was so badly injured with a broken skull in a fall at Haydock Park in May 1994 that the Racing Post published his obituary. The book documents: "his miraculous recovery, what became a journey into uncharted mental and physical waters, plus the nature of memory and loss and the bond between man and horse".

Murphy said: "Only with Ami has it been possible to bring these words into being. Having someone write your story is not dissimilar to the act of riding a horse: you are trusting another living being with your life. And in telling my story, Ami has set me free."

Rao added: "Declan’s life is a triumph of human resilience. This is a story that needed to be told, but to write the kind of book we wanted to write, we had to go back many times into the depths of darkness, to that place where hope almost died."

Transworld editorial director Giles Elliott acquired UK & Commonwealth rights in the book from Tim Bates of PFD.

Elliott said: "Sometimes a book comes along which makes you completely reassess the way you view life. What Declan and Ami have created is beyond remarkable."

Centaur is scheduled for publication in April 2017.