Let me tell you a story
Rob Parsons OBE, who completed his PhD in Creative Writing in 2024, talks about his incredible life and the many characters who have inspired him
Lets be clear about this straight away Rob Parsons knows how to tell a story.
With the ink barely dry on a PhD in Creative Writing, that maybe shouldnt be a surprise. But its something hes been doing throughout his adult life.
Arthur Tovey, Rob says, in a calm voice typical of someone from his part of South Wales. Hes the person who convinced me I could do this. I used to go to my local church as a teenager, and one day he invited me to a discussion group he and his wife were having. They didnt have much, but when you went into their house you felt like a king. He told me he thought I had a gift for storytelling, and I guess it struck a chord.
Even so, for a teenager dreaming of the stages of Las Vegas, being told he might have the gift of the gab didnt resonate immediately. But a few years later, a local solicitor approached Rob and said he wanted to train someone up to become part of the practice. No one from his family had done anything similar as Rob says, there were only three books in his house, and a teacher had once written in a school report that he was making no use of the little ability he has.
John Loosemore, however, was insistent. Passing all his law exams, less than a decade later Rob was a joint senior partner in a ten-office legal practice. He and John were travelling the world, helping others to run businesses. He had met wife Dianne, bought a house and started a family. But when the first public-speaking invitation landed on his desk, it still struck fear into him.
I turned up and was practically sick on the pavement. My mum had always told me that if you cant fight wear a big hat you can at least look the part.
So I took her advice, bought a new suit and a briefcase so large I practically needed help to carry it. It gave me enough confidence that when I heard John introduce me to 250 lawyers at the London Hilton, I got up and started speaking. An hour later, the room erupted into applause.
Since then, Rob has taken those talents and run with them.
Every week for 30 years first on an ad hoc basis and then through Care for the Family, the charity he and Dianne established he has spoken to more than a million people in live events.
He uses his experiences to help people from all walks of life work through challenges. But there are some elements of his life that, no matter how gifted a storyteller he may be, still sound like pure fiction.
The story of Ronnie Lockwood as told in A Knock at the Door, the latest of his 30 or so books is the ultimate case in point.
Its just before Christmas 1975 and a homeless man knocks on the door of a family home in South Wales. He is carrying a bag of clothes and a frozen chicken. The door is opened, and he is invited in. He ends up staying with the family for Christmas. He lives there right up to his death 45 years later.
Rob says he had never thought of it as anything special. But in beginning research for his PhD, he found the story was almost without match.
Published in November 2024, his book has received rave reviews and even reduced one interviewer to tears on air. It is a deeply personal story now told to the whole world.
Ronnie was an amazing character, and I miss him terribly, Rob says. I miss his habits, his mannerisms and the phrases he would use over and over.
If we ever wanted to talk to him about something, he used to look at me and say Have I done a bad thing?. Being able to reassure him that nothing could have been further from the truth was a blessing.
Talking to Rob, its clear he is a firm believer in the impact one person can have on the lives of others.
From his mentors Arthur Tovey and John Loosemore to his unexpected house guest Ronnie Lockwood.
Despite being made an OBE in recognition of his achievements, its safe to say hes keen to shift the full extent of the credit to others, chiefly his family and the 100 or so staff working for his charity.
Anyone whos known a little bit of success in life runs the risk of getting a little up themselves. Ive certainly been guilty of that.
But the truth is most of us have come across somebody who has helped us a bit. If some people think Im that person, Im content with that.
Rob Parsons OBE