Retired Dallas lawyer turns cancer recovery into Kilimanjaro memoir

Brown Books Publishing Group will publish Stratton Horres’ memoir, From Crisis to Kilimanjaro: How to Climb After Life Changes Forever, on Oct. 20. The book follows the retired Dallas civil trial attorney’s cancer diagnosis, recovery and climb to Africa’s highest peak, with a companion workbook and Texas launch events planned this fall.

Why it matters: - Stratton Horres turns a cancer diagnosis and recovery into a practical memoir about coping with major life disruptions. - The book aims to give readers a framework they can apply to health crises, career upheavals, loss and other sudden changes. - The release adds to the market for illness memoirs, but with a legal-process structure built for self-help use.

What happened: - Brown Books Publishing Group will publish From Crisis to Kilimanjaro: How to Climb After Life Changes Forever on Oct. 20, 2026. - The memoir is written by Stratton Horres, a retired Dallas civil trial attorney and former managing partner of a Dallas office of a major international law firm. - Horres climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and reached Uhuru Peak, Africa’s highest point, at sunrise. - The publisher describes the book as a firsthand account of Horres’ response to his own health crisis.

The details: - Horres spent more than 25 years practicing civil trial law before retirement. - The memoir is organized like a trial, with sections modeled on opening statement, discovery, motion in limine, cross-examination and closing argument. - The book tracks illness, recovery and the climb up Kilimanjaro through that legal framework. - Horres says, "Treat every plan as an opening statement, not a final verdict." - A companion workbook will accompany the memoir for readers who want to apply the framework to their own lives. - Brown Books Publishing Group is based in Dallas and publishes nonfiction and other titles aimed at personal impact. - Horres is a native of Charleston, South Carolina, and a former editor of the USC Law Review. - Horres lives in Dallas. - The book’s publication date is Oct. 20, 2026. - Uhuru Peak sits at 19,341 feet above sea level.

Between the lines: - The memoir uses the courtroom as a metaphor for resilience, which gives the story a structure that is easy to follow and easy to reuse. - The focus on community suggests the book is as much about support systems as it is about individual grit. - Positioning the climb as a response to crisis broadens the appeal beyond cancer readers to anyone facing a forced reset.

What’s next: - Horres will appear at Turtle Creek Conservancy in Dallas on Oct. 20, Allen Public Library on Oct. 22, Roam Grandscape in The Colony on Oct. 27 and Bird’s Bookstore in Dallas on Nov. 1. - Readers can find more information at Stratton Horres’ website and Brown Books Publishing Group.

The bottom line: - Horres is turning one of life’s hardest diagnoses into a memoir built around endurance, structure and the people who help you keep climbing.