The story of my book cover…
In my bones, I feel that when we heal our own wounds, it becomes a privilege to have such a responsibility to turn around and heal other people.
I have been given the gift of LIFE, a new and transformed one, a heightened level of enlightenment, I have to share my story to give hope, to inspire people - the sick, and the ones who don’t know yet, but they too need healing, to evaluate their lives and create a vision for a thriving life - full of vitality.
The era of sleepwalking through life needs to end. Let's create space for a life that is carefully designed as we move intentionally and consciously towards the age of self care and self love.
Everything about writing The Grace of Cancer was so fluid. Every time I sat down to write, I couldn’t write fast enough as words and emotions started to just come out of my head and my heart.
It was beautiful - to experience being “in the flow”. By writing this book, I have learned the lesson that if something is meant for you, it will flow naturally and organically.
I was meant to play the role of a conduit, a vessel, to write my story as a message of “hope”, to inspire people to choose to LIVE so they they, too, get to share their story that will inevitably create a ripple effect. This is how we debunk the idea that cancer is a death sentence. How about cancer as a life sentence!?
A friend of mine was over for dinner one night, and told me that my working title, “Cancer was the best thing that has happened to me”, was too long of a title. I remember thinking, "make a mental note, while hiking Runyon Canyon tomorrow, I will dedicate that time to think of alternate titles for my book".
I found myself hiking longer than my usual duration, and realized that it was because I did not want to go home without a new title. But it didn't come, so I decided to go home, shower, and resume writing.
The old Veronica would have lost sleep ruminating over what my friend’s comment about the length of my title and forced myself to continue hiking until I found a title.
Instead, I applied one of the lessons that this disease taught me, “don’t force anything. Let things develop organically. Have faith that I will find the right title.”
While I was writing, with Edward transcribing my handwritten notes next to me, all of a sudden, I screamed and started crying at the same time.
I was screaming, “I have the title!” As soon as I received the download of the new title to my book, simultaneously, I received the vision of exactly what my book cover, front and back would look like.
The Grace of Cancer, Lessons in Humility and Greatness is perfect to describe my story. Grace is neither earned nor merited, it is just given to you. Grace is something you experience, and since I have had many small and big miracles occur during my healing journey, at the end of the day, I have been graced with a new life, given many lessons that taught me not only humility, but what it means to fully step into my own greatness!
The Grace of Cancer is my AMOR FATI. "Amor fati" is Latin, and according to one of my favorite philosophers, Friedrich Nietzsche, it is the concept of embracing and loving your fate!
Through my pain and struggles, it is within my control AND up to me how I perceive these events. This is very powerful! To not dwell but to accept your fate, to understand that in life, everything that happens has a purpose, and through our perception, we can elect to see this purpose as positive and then take action.
Even against all odds, we must find the will... and even while very hard and painful, we need to find the grace and the gift in it.
Now, you may be wondering about the design of my book cover. Those veiny lines on the front and back of my body symbolize where I felt the physical pain, as well as where some of my tumors were. We tried to mimic the scan but unfortunately, it was too blurry so I decided to outline the areas where I felt the pain.
I used the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi for my book cover. It means finding the beauty in the imperfections. When you think about it, life is imperfect yet it is so beautiful. Well, the Japanese believed that an object that is cracked and pieced back together using the most valuable metal - gold - is recognized as even more valuable because of its imperfection.
How does this relate to me and my story? The tumors in my body are the areas in my body where I was broken, and I had to work very hard to repair my damaged body. It is about accepting impermanence - that nothing and no one will live forever.
And, as Leonard Cohen said, "There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in."
So my friends, I leave you with the official announcement that on March 17th, 2020, my journey of healing - of filling in my cracks with gold - will be available on Amazon. As we enter March, the first month of spring, my wish is for my seeds of hope to blossom in your hearts, and for you to choose to be ALIVE every day!!
