I received official word late yesterday that my book for and about young adults with cancer has won a prestigious award from the American Journal of Nursing. The award is for the Consumer Health book of the year (2014) and I could not be more proud.
This is an award judged by my peers and from a highly respected leader in the field of nursing journals. Writing the book was both a challenge and a joy – a challenge in that it is not easy to think about the impact of a cancer diagnosis in young people who are on the cusp of adulthood in some cases and just too young in all cases. It was challenging in that I interviewed 20 young adults to inform the process and their stories were painful to hear – but also inspiring. One of the young people died before the book was published and his story was a poignant one because he had cancer as a teenager and had not yet achieved many of his hopes and dreams.
But the book was also a joyous process as so many of those interviewed had lessons for me personally and for those who read this book. Lessons about facing the diagnosis, getting through treatment, and coming out the other side with wisdom beyond their years.
A young woman with ovarian cancer worked with me on translating the interviews into the stories of their lives. Alicia Merchant had a gift for writing – her forward to the book is touching – and she died just a few months ago, never knowing of the awards that this work has earned.