Courtney Burnett’s ‘Difficult Gifts,’ explains how sometimes, suffering can open a door to happiness, and through dying, you can learn to fully live. This book was a very inspirational read that speaks about Courtney’s time in Thailand where she was studying medicine and eventually diagnoses herself with a malignant brain tumour.
Throughout her brain cancer journey, Courtney has turned to writing as a therapeutic way to cope with her diagnosis. As a physician, the last thing you’ll expect is to be diagnosing yourself and that alone is quite terrifying. Courtney started to share her experiences openly through her blog before realizing that her posts gave others dealing with malignant brain tumours hope. Many readers connected with her thoughts on how to embrace life and felt inspired by her words. Eventually, she turned her blog posts into a book and wrote ‘Difficult Gifts.’
I came across Courtney’s book and website while researching brain cancer-related books when preparing for my book launch. Instantly, I felt drawn to Courtney’s work and what her platform represented. After reading her memoir, I connected with her as I felt her vision of a cancer diagnosis reflected the vision I hoped to convey in my own novel, ‘Hold on please, Emily.’ Courtney’s memoir reminds us that although a cancer diagnosis is something sad, it should not limit us from embracing the life we have.
This is an excellent book and if you’ll like to read more about my thoughts about ‘Difficult Gifts,’ check out the September edition of ‘Hold On‘ by signing up here today.