This Sunday Times No. 1 bestseller by Deborah James is a powerful guide to finding hope and living joyfully despite a terminal diagnosis. Drawing on her own journey with incurable bowel cancer, she offers practical wisdom for embracing each day with purpose.
I was alive when I should have been dead. In another movie, I missed the sliding door and departed this wondrous life long ago. Like so many others, I had to learn to live not knowing if I have a tomorrow, because, statistically, I didn't. At the age of 35, I was blindsided by incurable bowel cancer - I was given less than an 8 per cent chance of surviving five years. Five years later, my only option was to live in the now and to value one day at a time.
How do you turn your mind from a negative spiral into realistic and rebellious hope? How do you stop focusing on the why and realise that 'why not me' is just as valid a question?
When Deborah James was diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer at just 35, she learned a powerful lesson: the way we respond to any given situation empowers or destroys us. And with the right skills and approach, we can all face huge challenges and find strength and hope in the darkest of places.
How to Live When You Could Be Dead will show you how. It will awaken you to question your life as if you didn't have a tomorrow and live it in the way you want to today. By harnessing the power of positivity and valuing each day as though it could be your last, you'll find out, as Deborah did, that it is possible to live with joy and purpose, no matter what.
Other Information: Deborah James worked in education for 15 years as a deputy head teacher, where she led national research into growth mindset in schools. At the age of 35, life with her young children and husband was thrown upside down when she was diagnosed with stage 4, incurable bowel cancer. She responded by starting a blog, 'bowel babe', which became the award-winning, weekly column in The Sun, 'Things Cancer Made Me Say'. Over the five years that followed, she dedicated herself tirelessly to fundraise, challenge taboos and raise awareness of cancer, cheered on by over 700k followers on Instagram (@bowelbabe), and presented chart-topping podcasts 'You, Me and the Big C' for BBC's Radio 5 Live and 'The Good Stuff', which she hosted with her children. In May 2022, Deborah was personally awarded a damehood by the Duke of Cambridge.
