Hope: Read the inspirational life behind Tom Parker

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As she navigates the trials and tribulations of life without her husband, naturally Kelsey has found herself feeling lonely at times – particularly in the evenings when the children have gone to bed. Seeking comfort and companionship, she began a relationship with builder Sean Boggans, who she met at a wedding last summer. Throughout everything that happened to him, Tom had hope. This inspirational memoir shows how far hope and daring to dream can carry you, no matter what cards you're dealt. In March 2022, the much-loved pop star, husband and father and son died from an incurable brain tumour. Looking to the future isn’t something on Kelsey’s mind either. Tom’s taught her it’s all about living “for today”. But right now, she’s grateful to have written a book so that her children can read about their parents when they’re ready. I don’t want to be that pushy parent, but even when Tom was alive, he would say, ‘Kels, she can sing in tune, not many kids that age can sing in tune,’” she says. “She loves to perform. She’s just naturally gifted and so is Bodhi.”

Already following in their talented parents’ footsteps – Kelsey is a trained actress and runs a performing arts school – the siblings are showing promise for a career in the spotlight. Particularly Aurelia. Elsewhere in this section of the film, Parker—who in real life had sold the network on the idea of a Christmas special so he could turn Elvis into a late-’60s Bing Crosby—appears as a bumbling rube in his insistence that Elvis sing “Here Comes Santa Claus.” It’s funny, but renders Parker ridiculous. Sure, he was out of touch with the times by then, and didn’t see the Phoenix-like potential of what the special could do for his “attraction,” as he called Elvis. But he was never inept, and he was fiercely loyal in his business dealings and determined to honor his contracts to the letter. The Colonel Goes to Nightmare AlleyI’ve done it for Aurelia and Bodhi – how cool that both their parents are published authors! When they get older, they can read the books and get a sense of mine and Tom’s relationship. And I definitely think that’s what you draw from my book. Tom was my everything.” The sleeve reads, "In March 2022, much-loved pop star, father and son Tom Parker died from incurable brain cancer. This story is his legacy, in his own words. A proud working-class lad from Bolton, he rose to chart-topping fame with The Wanted and even took America by storm. A loving father to Aurelia and Bodhi and a proud husband to Kelsey, his life after pop superstardom was all about family, friends and finding new purpose. After his diagnosis in 2020, he become a prominent campaigner for brain cancer research, appearing in the House of Commons as well as holding a massively successful concert in aid of Stand Up to Cancer in the Royal Albert Hall. Throughout it all, Tom had hope. This inspirational memoir shows how far hope and daring to dream can carry you, no matter what cards you're dealt." They give you 12 to 18 months of survival. But that's the general statistics. Everyone we've ­spoken to has been way, way beyond that." It was magical – he didn’t die in pain,” Kelsey, now 33, explains. “It was like his soul was ready to leave him and go somewhere else. It was so special to watch. It wasn’t like he was struggling or anything like that. He looked amazing and he just passed over.” For what it’s worth, the film has it right when Elvis gets suggestive with a plaster Nipper, the RCA dog, in concert. But it’s said to have happened at the Pan-Pacific show. He Only Took Credit for Elvis’s Success, Not Blame for His Demise

Of her role in Harry Potter, where she played a Hufflepuff student, Kelsey laughs, “The Harry Potter film is one that definitely resonates with the kids. They’ll say to their mates, ‘My mum was in Harry Potter.’ So that’s pretty cool.”In the scenes in which he promotes Hank Snow, Parker talks about staging a carny wedding at an upcoming stop. Parker routinely did this during his days with the carnivals. Remembered Alan Fortas, a member of Elvis’s “Memphis Mafia” entourage: “He performed a wedding ceremony on a Ferris wheel. They had the bride and groom in one car, and the bridesmaids in the next one.” He so identified with that lifestyle that he sought the company of concessionaires, midway operators, and sideshow performers long after his carnival days were over. Losing your husband at 32 is something no one should have to face. But Kelsey, who has two children, Aurelia, four, and two-year-old Bodhi, with The Wanted’s Tom, tries to put a positive spin on everything – even her husband’s death. Including, in one particularly moving chapter of her autobiography, the I will preface this by saying I am biased as a fan of The Wanted, and of Tom as a person, but honestly believe that this book can be impactful universally.

Sean’s been amazing in this whole situation because he comes from a different place,” she says. “We’re still seeing each other.” I don’t think going to see a counsellor is right for me. I’m useless at that,” Kelsey exclusively tells OK! “But writing theThis book is an incredible achievement for Tom. To have written a book about his life whilst in the throws of battling cancer is genuinely mind-boggling to me. This book summarises Tom’s life before The Wanted, during it, his career and domestic life during the bands hiatus, and delves into his diagnosis and treatment with / for Stage 4 Glioblastoma. Kelsey Parker has written a book called Kelsey Parker: With And Without You and it's a no holds barred account of living with grief (Image: 2020) Read More Related Articles

Kelsey Parker: With And Without You is a no holds barred account of living with grief, and it details the final years she spent with the love of her life, the late Tom Parker, who passed away at the age of 33 in March 2022. For fans of The Wanted, this book is a beautiful, sometimes funny, but heart-wrenching look into a life that we admired so much, and offered an outlook into Tom's life that I feel many of us haven't seen before. To those who perhaps didn’t know of Tom as well, or didn’t know him at all before his diagnosis, this is a simple, sometimes funny, often poignant, look at the trials and tribulations of life, and how positivity can do so much. It’s a devastatingly short book for me, I would’ve lapped up a book five times its length, which feels so metaphorical for the unfair hand Tom was dealt with his diagnosis. Despite this, the book manages to be uplifting, offering insight into how positivity and hope were such strong traits throughout Tom’s life, and how they ultimately came to be some of his biggest allies whilst fighting his illness.

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In 1963, Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley’s audacious manager who had gotten his start selling candy apples in carnivals, read in the paper that Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s presidential yacht, the U.S.S. Potomac, was going to be salvaged. Some called it his “Floating White House.” But Parker, who was born in Holland in 1909 as Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk and never became an American citizen, didn’t care about that. He saw the Potomac as just another snow job, as he called his art of the con. He would donate the rusting hulk to charity and put a P.R. feather in the cap of his only client: Elvis Presley. Tom was an amazing husband to Kelsey, and father to Aurelia and Bodhi. He was our brother, words can't express the loss and sadness we feel. Always and forever in our hearts. Sean’s been there for me when other people can’t be there for me,” she says. “He’s been absolutely amazing. He doesn’t treat me like a widow – he treats me like a normal person and I’m grateful for that.”