Too often we minimise the reality of terminal cancer, concentrating instead on survival records and talking only in positive pink ribbon terms. But what of those who live daily with the shadow of the disease? This is a book about how that feels. It is about how to die as much as about to how to live; yet it is also life-affirming, funny and shot through with hope.'
Life is full of small details that we tuck away somewhere to revisit when we need them most: the calming sound of the sea, that childlike joy when you feel the sun hit your face on an early February morning. These small details knitted together, make up our perfect, ordinary lives. Few understood the importance of these more than Sarah Hughes, who lived with terminal metastatic cancer for over three years and who died in April 2021.
This book is a celebration of everything that can make up a life, and how to hold it all close: how to cherish the perspective-changing, exhale-bringing perspective of a trashy novel; how to find the upside of chemo (finally being able to fit into flippy french tea dresses); how to explore the intimate topography of a body that's yours and yours alone.
For fans of Matt Haig and Maggie O'Farrell, this is a tender word-of-mouth bestseller: the sort of book you'll press into the hands of your friends, family and a stranger in a bookshop. Sarah Hughes was a London-based journalist who regularly contributed to a variety of publications including the Guardian, the Independent, the Independent on Sunday, the Observer and Metro. She specialised in entertainment writing with a particular emphasis on television and was responsible for the Guardian's hugely successful Game of Thrones blog. She also had considerable experience in lifestyle journalism, writing regularly for the Guardian's women's pages and the Observer news desk. How does it feel to know you are going to die? And, more importantly, what does that teach you about how to live? Sarah sadly passed away in April 2021, just before she finished writing her book. Her death has given her beautiful, moving words about her life and her illness an even greater poignancy. Readers won't fail to be moved by her writing. The novelist Harriet Tyce was once of Sarah's best friends and has written a funny and deeply moving introduction to the book. Sarah's husband, Kris, has provided an afterword. Both will be happy to promote Sarah's book on publication. As has been apparent from the tributes paid to Sarah on her passing, she was loved and admired by so many from all walks of life. From journalists to actors; from novelists to screen writers. The actors Adrian Dunbar and Kit Harington both read at Sarah's memorial service. All of these contacts will be supportive of her book. Sarah was a hugely respected journalist and The Guardian will support the book on publication. This is a book for readers of Cathy Rentzenbrink, Matt Haig, Maggie O'Farrell and Poorna Bell.
