Greenock widow has penned a book about the loss of his beloved wife

John Davidson, a cartomancer who interprets dreams and works to glimpse what may happen in the future, has published a poignant yet uplifting title in memory of his wife Helen, who passed away at the age of just 43 after battling a very rare type of breast cancer.

In the book, entitled 'In search of Helen's Dreams; An American Odyssey', the 72-year-old of Finnart Street offers words of comfort to others who have experienced bereavement as he talks about Helen's courage throughout her illness and the grief he experienced when she passed away.

John also speaks about the lengths he went to in order to fulfil Helen's final wish to be buried on the Native American reservation she dreamed so vividly about before her death.

John said: "My dearest hope is that, having read it, Helen's story uplifts your spirit and offers a measure of hope to bereaved families.

"This was my only intention."

It was back in 1972 when John met Helen.

Love soon blossomed and the couple married exactly two years to the date they met.

Three years later they were blessed with their son Samuel.

Their world was turned upside down in 1992 when Helen was suddenly struck down with breast cancer which latterly infected her liver and caused a fatal second tumour.

Just 12 months later, only a few months short of her 44th birthday, she passed away.

In the book John says: "As I sat alone in our bedroom with her dead body, I knew I had been privileged to have been loved by her.

"Now I realised just how honoured I had been to have witnessed the sheer bravery and dignity of her dying and death.

"I wept out of sorrow and I wept from humility."

Before Helen died she made John promise to bury her remains on a American Native reservation, a place she saw in her dreams.

Despite no-one knowing about Helen's illness, her old friend Margaret Cameron also said she experienced similar dreams which showed Helen riding a wild horse in the west.

John said: "We were flabbergasted because Margaret's description so closely matched Helen's description of her own dreams.

"For a long time we discussed the whys and wherefores but we never reached a satisfactory explanation, except that the dreams must be spiritual and that the meaning might remain unknown to the three of us."

John was determined to fulfil his wife's dying wish so he embarked on an incredible journey to America along with Samuel.

Despite fears that he might not be allowed into the country with the casket containing Helens remains, John made it through immigration and navigated himself across the country, making his way to Washington, Texas, San Antonio, El Paso, Mexico, Phoenix and finally the Arizona desert, Helen's final resting place.

Against all odds, John, got the permission he required from the native Americans to bury his wife's remains in a place she described in her dreams - a mesa, or flat-topped hill with steep sides where wild horses roam.

John said: "I looked out and below I saw a herd of wild horses running freely.

"It was hard to believe because the panorama appeared exactly like the one Helen had described to me.

"The one she had experienced in her dream."

John says he hopes his book will provide a source of comfort to other people who are grieving.

He said: "Over the years I have often told others about the events described here, and those people, usually strangers, have all reacted in a similar way.

"People are usually stunned into speechlessness.

"No one has ever challenged the authenticity of the events nor questioned the truth of the 'supernatural' elements either.

"I leave individuals to make up their own minds to the validity of the details described in this booklet.

"Everyone should come to their own conclusions and I'm sure they do and that's how it should be.

"I know the truth.

"I have my own answers and that's all I need."

In the book John pays tribute to his son Samuel, who was only 15 when his mum died, and Helen's sister Ruth for her support.

It is available to buy online at Amazon.