The main character in the book was a young girl who learned after becoming really ill that she would be dying soon of pancreatic cancer. The first few chapters gave detailed information on the disease. Like my stepfather she thought it was her gallbladder that was giving her trouble. So when my stepfather told me the horrible news I had a tiny bit of knowledge under my belt that acted like a pin prick of light in a darkness so thick that it would take me more than a year to pull myself out.

My stepfather’s quick and painful death knocked me on my butt, took the wind out of me and changed the way that I viewed my world instantly.