Reflections on a year in the life of one woman following a diagnosis of bowel cancer
 Soon after my diagnosis I began to read another cancer diary and it became my constant companion as I realised I was not alone. Here was someone else who knew how it felt. I too began to write and so the book was born. The book is set out as a narrative diary and is interspersed with poems and photographs.
Writing this book was for me a door back to freedom. It helped me to articulate my feelings and the emotional side of cancer has become the main focus for this book. It is not a medical journal or self help book. It describes what it feels like to have cancer. How do you tell your family? How do you tell your friends? The emotional fall out and physical side effects are described in narrative but even more effectively through poetry.
The book details the diagnosis, the tests, the unfamiliar machines, surgery, scans and chemotherapy. The chapters are linked to themes in the natural world.
Chapter 1 “ The Dark Cloud” (diagnosis and surgery) also contains the first poem I wrote. This led on to other poems which became an important means of self expression during the whole illness.They focus on the hope that we need to look for, as we struggle with the dark clouds of life.
Chapter 2 “ Mountains and Valleys” tells of the physical and emotional struggles of a difficult seven months of chemotherapy treatment.. One poem asks where can we find God in these difficult times. In other poems, the uphill struggle is likened to climbing a mountain and finding a way through the descending mists.
Chapter 3 “Ripples on the pool” focuses on events after the treatment finishes. The poem “Ripples on the Pool”, recalls the pain of the operation, but only through this pain was I able to regain my calmness and use my new found emotional and spiritual strength to listen to others and, hopefully, to be able to offer them some reassurance.
 This is followed by a short reflective chapter, “The Door” which explores some aspects of being a cancer survivor.
The book is illustrated with colour photographs, mostly of landscapes and views which link to the images in the poems. The poems themselves are in different styles, ranging from “the chemotherapy rap” to a more questioning process seen in a poem entitled “Where is God?”
“Through this year, I have learnt so much. I gained strength through reading the words of others who had written about the experience and it was helpful to know that I was not alone. I hope that through my words and poems, other people will find some comfort in being able to identify with some of the fears, the difficulties and the joys of living with cancer and how it really feels.”
What other people have said about this book:
“This book will provide encouragement to all who suffer from cancer. It is not a book for those looking for simple answers. It is an honest book which expresses well the complexities of the cancer experience. Hope faith and love come and go. The reader will not find practical tips on how to beat bowel cancer, nor a heroic battle against heroic odds; just an ordinary person’s lived experience. It is a true book reflecting how life is. Yet it is combined with a poetic gift which lifts it above the ordinary and communicates real emotions and powerful images with directness and immediacy.”
“Ann has an amazing gift which touches readers. It is likely that people will want to buy this book as a present to give to others. When you are feeling rough, a dip into a photo and poetry book is wonderful – much better than a magazine and easier than a novel.”
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If you would like more information or would like to see a copy of the book please contact me.
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