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The Length of a Wish
The Length of a Wish tells the story of a woman with cancer who creates an imaginary hero to help her through her journey. Enter Lyra: a sassy nine (-and-three-quarters-) year-old who loves fairytales.
The author deliberately blurs fact with fiction to create a deeper reality.
There is increasing recognition of the power that narratives have to increase empathy and understanding amongst healthcare practitioners, and camaraderie among patients.
This story should appeal to a wide cross section of people - those with cancer, people managing illness and their families, healthcare professionals and the general public.
The author deliberately blurs fact with fiction to create a deeper reality.
There is increasing recognition of the power that narratives have to increase empathy and understanding amongst healthcare practitioners, and camaraderie among patients.
This story should appeal to a wide cross section of people - those with cancer, people managing illness and their families, healthcare professionals and the general public.
89 pages, Paperback
Published December 18, 2019
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 17, 2020
This book was a step into a world of fantasy and honesty experienced and created by a woman with terminal cancer. It is non-fiction, overlaid with fiction, creating a dreamlike reality. Through the lyricism you can sense the fragility and feel the fear.
Apple-tree apple-tree hide me,
So the old witch can't find me;
If she does she'll pick my bones,
And bury me under the marble stones.
Its authenticity grew from the skilful way fact and fantasy blurred - an insight into the mind of the sick one. I am not so close to dying (yet) but I feel that when my time approaches, I too might move partially into a world beyond, where anything might become possible.
At first I tried to work out what was fact and what was fiction, but soon I stopped - it didn't matter.
The story felt "airy" somehow, like the figure of the slender fairylike lady, drifting along holding a magic wand, and peeping out through the circular hole in the cover of the book.
It asked me to confront death and become reconciled.
There is an imaginary character called Lyra who is the playful child hero, guiding the author along the path her circumstances force her to take. Lyra did two things - she demonstrated the loneliness of the journey towards death and she helped to heal that loneliness.
They are going to make a mask of your head for the radiation. You do not want to look like a freak. You do not want to feel fear.
"Don't worry," Lyra says. "We are going to make you beautiful.
Beautiful, heart-rending powerful. I recommend this story of fragility and strength to all.
One more thing.
The author passed peacefully, only a few short weeks after the book was launched in Auckland New Zealand, and the day after it was was placed here on GoodReads.
A print edition has been published by Eunoia and is available here:
https://fivedogsbooks.com/the-length-...
Apple-tree apple-tree hide me,
So the old witch can't find me;
If she does she'll pick my bones,
And bury me under the marble stones.
Its authenticity grew from the skilful way fact and fantasy blurred - an insight into the mind of the sick one. I am not so close to dying (yet) but I feel that when my time approaches, I too might move partially into a world beyond, where anything might become possible.
At first I tried to work out what was fact and what was fiction, but soon I stopped - it didn't matter.
The story felt "airy" somehow, like the figure of the slender fairylike lady, drifting along holding a magic wand, and peeping out through the circular hole in the cover of the book.
It asked me to confront death and become reconciled.
There is an imaginary character called Lyra who is the playful child hero, guiding the author along the path her circumstances force her to take. Lyra did two things - she demonstrated the loneliness of the journey towards death and she helped to heal that loneliness.
They are going to make a mask of your head for the radiation. You do not want to look like a freak. You do not want to feel fear.
"Don't worry," Lyra says. "We are going to make you beautiful.
Beautiful, heart-rending powerful. I recommend this story of fragility and strength to all.
One more thing.
The author passed peacefully, only a few short weeks after the book was launched in Auckland New Zealand, and the day after it was was placed here on GoodReads.
A print edition has been published by Eunoia and is available here:
https://fivedogsbooks.com/the-length-...
Displaying 1 of 1 review