UK author publishes book to help people living with breast cancer

A UK author is preparing to help others by drawing upon her own experience of cancer.

Award-winning author and breast cancer survivor Estelle Maher, form Wirral UK, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019. Her new novel is set to be released to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The Killing of Tracey Titmass is the author’s third novel and will be launched on October 29th 2020.

The book is written in diary form and follows Maher’s own tumultuous journey of living with breast cancer through the eyes of the character Jo Kearns.

Described as humorous and poignant, the inspirational story is full of raw emotion, detailing the physical and mental journey cancer patients experience from diagnosis to surgery and beyond.

The author spent some time debating whether to use her own cancer experiences in her novel:

“I kept a diary because writing helped me to come to terms with my own emotions. It helped to stop my head feeling so fizzy and was to some extent, medicinal. I hadn’t planned on turning it into a book but then friends suggested that it might help others going through a similar experience.

“It took me several attempts. It sounds daft but at first I didn’t feel comfortable with inflicting cancer on a character. I know it’s all fictional but it just seemed too cruel and emotionally I found that very difficult.

“But, once I’d decided to write the book in diary format and attribute my own timeline of events to the character, it became a bit easier to write. It was more personal and all the interactions and hospital appointments are all based on true events and things that really happened to me.

“I want people to read it and not feel isolated. Many of the emotions you experience through something like this are normal and I want people to know they’re not on their own. Cancer never really goes away and learning to live with that and cope with life afterwards is an important part of the message within this book. Cancer doesn’t define you but it does become a part of your identity in so many ways.”