Two Sisters and a Brain Tumour

I should have imposed some boundaries all those years ago.

'Save her, whatever it takes, except a brain tumour.'

That would have been a better prayer.

 

As a teenager, Emily prayed a desperate prayer. Now, in her final year of university, Emily has already witnessed illness tear apart the lives of those she loves. Yet when her younger sister, Jasmine, is diagnosed with a brain tumour, her entire world is turned upside-down. As she watches Jasmine go through more than nine operations in three months, she  struggles with what this means for her future, for their relationship, and for the prayer she prayed so long ago. This is the story of two sisters, the brain tumour which tore apart their lives, and the God who used it to save them.



'This is a raw and revealing account, reminding us of the reality of our shared,

fragile lives and the hope we can find in Jesus.'

 

- Naomi Reed, award-winning author of My Seventh Monsoon and The Plum Tree in the Desert.

 

'A joyful, faithful, grittily triumphant story of two siblings. With skilful words, disarming    humour and precision, Emily documents the exhausting odyssey of sickness, lament and healing against a background of relentless trust in God's mysterious purposes and mercy.' 

 

- Rev Anthony Brammall, Academic-Vice Principal at SMBC and author of Out of Darkness: 100 Years of Sydney Missionary and Bible College.

 

'Sibling relationships are always part-joy, part-frustration, but throw a brain tumour into the mix and the rules for sibling engagement must be completely renegotiated. Emily's recollections are simultaneously beautiful, amusing, tear-jerking, and wonderfully uplifting.

You cannot read this book without being touched.'

 

- Dr Louise Gosbell, Acting Principal at Mary Andrews College and author of

'The Poor, the Crippled, the Blind, and the Lame': Physical and Sensory Disability in the Gospels of the New Testament.