Late Fragments : Everything I Want to Tell You (About This Magnificent Life)

Kate Gross was a woman who 'leaned in' until cancer stopped her in her tracks. Now terminal, this brave, frank and heartbreaking book shows what it means to die before your time, and how to fill your life with wonder, hope and joy even in the face of tragedy. Ambitious and talented, Kate Gross worked in Number 10 for two British Prime Ministers whilst only in her twenties. By the time she was thirty, she was CEO of a charity working with fragile new democracies in post-conflict Africa. She had met and married 'the best looking man I've ever kissed' and gave birth to twin boys in 2008. The future was bright. Until... Aged 34, Kate was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer. Whilst she had been busy leaning in, inside her a lump of cells had broken free of the rules and spawned a tumour, had crept into her lymph nodes and colonised her liver. Now terminal, it is clear that she will die before her children finish primary school and probably before they reach the grand old age of 6,... What would you say to your children if you were dying of cancer? Kate Gross strode across the world until cancer stopped her in her tracks. This brave, frank and heartbreaking book is her way of keeping her voice alive. Kate Gross was a woman who 'leaned in'. Ambitious and talented, she worked in Number 10 for two British Prime Ministers when only in her twenties and became Chief Executive of Africa Governance Initiative in her early 30s. She met and married 'the best looking man I've ever kissed' - and gave birth to twin boys in 2008. The future was bright. Until ... Aged 34, Kate was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer. Whilst she was busy trying to do good in the world, inside her a lump of cells had broken free of the rules and spawned a tumour, crept into her lymph nodes and colonised her liver. It is clear that she will die before her children finish primary school and probably before they reach the grand old age of 6, which they think is impossibly grown up, and she thinks is impossibly young. She began to write as a gift to herself, a reminder that she could create even as her body tried to self-destruct. The result is this frank, brave, funny and profoundly wise book. Written to those she loves, it is her attempt to understand what has happened to her family, to make sense of the Kate who has emerged in this strange, lucid final chunk of life. But it has lessons for all of us on the importance of friendship and family, the role of work in our lives, relationships with children and parents when both are facing a future without a mother or daughter. And how to behave around the terminally ill - who don't necessarily want to stop having fun just because they are dying. Every page is infused with her deep love of literature and of enjoying her life - even as she faces up to her own demise. Kate should have been granted decades to say all the things she says in these pages. Denied the chance, however, to become fat, old and dressed solely in purple, she won't be able bore her children and grandchildren with stories of the world she knows. Instead, she offers them - and all of us - this very special book *THE NUMBER 1 BESTSELLER* What are the things we live for? What matters most in life when your time is short? This brave, frank and heartbreaking book shows what it means to die before your time; how to take charge of your life and fill it with wonder, hope and joy even in the face of tragedy. Ambitious and talented, Kate Gross worked at Number 10 Downing Street for two British Prime Ministers whilst only in her twenties. At thirty, she was CEO of a charity working with fragile democracies in Africa. She had married 'the best looking man I've ever kissed' – and given birth to twin boys in 2008. The future was bright. But aged 34, Kate was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer. After a two-year battle with the disease, Kate died peacefully at home on Christmas morning, just ten minutes before her sons awoke to open their stockings. She began to write as a gift to herself, a reminder that she could create even as her body began to self-destruct. Written for those she loves, her book is not a conventional cancer memoir; nor is it filled with medical jargon or misery. Instead, it is Kate's powerful attempt to make sense of the woman who emerged in the strange, lucid final chunk of her life. Her book aspires to give hope and purpose to the lives of her readers even as her own life drew to its close. Kate should have been granted decades to say all that she says in these pages. Denied the chance to bore her children and grandchildren with stories when she became fat and old, she offers us all her thoughts on how to live; on the wonder to be found in the everyday; the importance of friendship and love; what it means to die before your time and how to fill your life with hope and joy even in the face of tragedy. What are the things we live for? What matters most in life when your time is short? This brave, frank and heartbreaking book shows what it means to die before your time, and how to fill your life with wonder, hope and joy even in the face of tragedy. Ambitious and talented, Kate Gross worked at Number 10 Downing Street for two British Prime Ministers whilst only in her twenties. At thirty, she was CEO of a charity working with fragile democracies in Africa. She had married 'the best looking man I've ever kissed' - and given birth to twin boys in 2008. The future was bright. But aged 34, Kate was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer. After a two-year battle with the disease, Kate died peacefully at home on Christmas morning, just ten minutes before her sons awoke to open their stockings. She began to write as a gift to herself, a reminder that she could create even as her body began to self-destruct. Written for those she loves, her book is not a conventional cancer memoir; nor is it filled with medical jargon or misery. Instead, it is Kate's powerful attempt to make sense of the woman who emerged in the strange, lucid final chunk of her life. Her book aspires to give hope and purpose to the lives of her readers even as her own life drew to its close. Kate should have been granted decades to say all that she says in these pages. Denied the chance to bore her children and grandchildren with stories when she became fat and old, she offers us all instead her thoughts on how to live; on the wonder to be found in the everyday; the importance of friendship and love; what it means to die before your time and how to fill your life with hope and joy even in the face of tragedy. Ambitious and talented, Kate Gross worked at Number 10 Downing Street for two British Prime Ministers whilst only in her twenties. At thirty, she was CEO of a charity working with fragile democracies in Africa. She had married 'the best looking man I've ever kissed' and given birth to twin boys in 2008. The future was bright. But aged 34, Kate was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer. Now terminal, it is clear that she will die before her children finish primary school and probably before they reach the grand old age of 6. She began to write as a gift to herself, a reminder that she could create even as her body tried to self-destruct. Written for those she loves,her book is not a conventional cancer memoir; nor is it filled with medical jargon or misery. Instead, it is Kate's powerful attempt to make sense of the woman who has emerged in this strange, lucid final chunk of life. Kate should have been granted decades to say all that she says in these pages. Denied the chance to bore her children and grandchildren with stories when she is fat and old, she offers us all her thoughts on how to live; on the wonder to be found in the everyday; the importance of friendship and love; what it means to die before your time and how to fill your life with hope and joy even in the face of tragedy.