Royston: Daughter finishes book by late mum Sylvia Beamon

Sylvia, who was an authority on Royston Cave, accumulated decades of research into speleotherapy - a treatment used primarily for healing asthma by inhaling unique microclimates found underground, such as in salt caves.

Before her death in December 2021, Sylvia asked her daughter Stacey Lambert to finish her book, Salt of the Earth, Healing Asthma through Speleotherapy, which will be published next month.

Sylvia Beamon with her daughter Stacey Lambert (Image: Courtesy of Stacey Lambert)

Stacey said: "Mum believed that there was something about the healing power of speleotherapy that was overlooked and it shouldn't be.

"She was adamant that there needed to be a voice for this particular therapy to be kept alive to benefit people's health."

After leaving full-time work at the end of 2022, Stacey had time to focus on Sylvia's book and sort through her mum's manuscript and substantial research papers.

Sylvia explained that she could have paid to self-publish the book, but needed an editor to maintain the integrity of the content while avoiding outdated medical references.

Sylvia Beamon's daughter Stacey Lambert (Image: Courtesy of Stacey Lambert)

She said: "We came up with a hybrid idea where it would be designed and edited by a third party but published with my mum’s copyright.

"We would do our own promotion and marketing but they would focus on getting the manuscript into a condition where it could be published."

The original book was more than 600 pages long, but editor Andrew Chapman from The Right Book Company managed to edit the manuscript to a more accessible length.

Stacey said: "The finished book is great. I am so proud and I know my mum would be so proud.

'Salt of the Earth, Healing Asthma through Speleotherapy' by Sylvia P. Beamon (Image: The Right Book Company)

"Although I have written the preface, I worked with Andrew throughout the process and I am thrilled that we have been able to maintain the authenticity of mum’s own work."

Sylvia stumbled across speleotherapy because she suffered from asthma, and in 1995, wanting to be well enough to dance at Stacey's wedding, visited Romania to try speleotherapy.

She had a top-up in Poland in 1997, and her asthma never returned to the way it was before the treatment.

Sylvia was invited to join the Cochrane Collaboration, a group of people who do research on medical phenomena, and also visited man-made salt chambers, salt mines in Wieliczka and radon caves in Montana.

Stacey said: "Without knowing it she had almost become the authority in this country on speleotherapy.

"She was always afraid of being forgotten and decades of work being forgotten.

"As a family we can now announce mum’s work is done."

Salt of the Earth is believed to be the only full-length, English language work on speleotherapy.

Stacey said: "It was a really interesting project and nice to venture into my mum’s world.

"Her whole family and friends have been behind this project. Everyone’s been supportive.

"I just hope I have done her proud."

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The book will be launched at Royston Museum - where Sylvia was a regular patron - from 4pm to 6pm on Sunday, May 12, with all welcome to attend.

Sylvia's sons Kevin, Ivor and Murray will also be at the launch to celebrate her achievement, along with other members of the family.

Salt of the Earth will be available to buy at the launch, and from Amazon at the end of May or early June.

In the book, Sylvia writes in her own words: "I would like to think that anyone could happily pick up this book and find it interesting, understandable, possibly unusual, yet relatively easy to read."