Why I wrote this book (and why this launch matters)
I need to tell you something.
When people ask me about my "cancer journey," I correct them. I call it my cancer adventure.
Here's why that matters:
"Cancer journey" makes it sound like I bought a ticket and planned the trip. "Cancer adventure" acknowledges that sometimes life drops you into experiences you never saw coming—and that's where the magic happens.
A few weeks ago, I returned from a road trip where we celebrated two mothers (ages 90 and 86) and memorialized my father-in-law (88 years old). While we were traveling, we got news that a longtime friend who battled cancer for many years passed away at 58.
Everything is still tender-hearted.
And it reminded me why I wrote Revealing Grace in the first place—and why I'm asking you to show up on Saturday.
Because there's a difference between a Cancer Victim mindset and a Cancer Adventurer mindset.
The adventurer mindset says: I didn't choose this interruption, but I get to choose how I move through it. I get to decide what language I use. I get to find the magic in the mess.
And the stark truth is this—you can't do it alone.
Sean Swarner, who was diagnosed with cancer twice as a teenager, says it perfectly: the adventurer mindset can move us through fear and uncertainty of loss, illness, divorce, or any life-altering change. But it takes practice. And it takes fellow adventurers climbing that same mountain.
That's what community does. That's what Revealing Grace is about. That's what Saturday is about.
This book is more than just my story. This book is about what gets revealed real fast when life strips away everything non-essential and shows us who we really are, who truly loves us, and what we're actually capable of becoming.
Saturday, October 18th, 1–6 pm at Survivor Wellness House, 59 South 1100 East Salt Lake City, Utah.
Come celebrate with me. Bring someone you love. Buy a book for someone who needs to hear this message. Make a donation that puts a book and/or Reiki treatments or wellness care directly into the hands of someone fighting right now.
This is bigger than a book launch. This is an opportunity to show up for each other—the way my community showed up for me 20 years ago, and the way Michael's firefighter brothers and sisters show up for each other every single day.
I can't do this alone. And neither can you.
See you Saturday.
With love and gratitude,
Amy
