The Brave In-Between

"Amy Low resides in a room that is her last - she may have one healthy year in front of her, or perhaps a few more. Her medical team is clear-eyed with her: there is no cure for Stage IV metastatic colon cancer, and the odds of long-term survival are scant. If humans are especially fortunate, we enter our last room - or chapter - of life feeling physically run-down and exhausted. Which is to say, we're old. Or maybe we step into that room young and full of health, having no idea at all we're in the room at all. Which is to say, tomorrow we'll be hit by a bus. But Amy is in the room, relatively young and mentally healthy, a single mom to two teenage children who's been through a divorce-and she's had plenty of time to decorate. Through the swirl of prolonged trauma and unbearable grief, though, a vantage point emerged-a window, of sorts, that showed her the way to relish life and be kinder to herself and others while living through the inevitable loss and heartbreak that each of our stories includes. Instead of viewing joy and sorrow as opposites, she saw how both exist in harmony, full of mystery and surprise. Instead of seeing days as succeeding or failing, and physical selves as healthy or unwell, she's learned to carry both achievements and afflictions in stride. "The Brave In-Between" is an invitation to explore both triumph and tragedy as necessary, as well as the sacred components scattered throughout all our paths. Because we all have a heart to marvel at miracles, a lightness to spot the absurdity, and a more expansive imagination to pause and extend empathy for others when tragedy strikes-sometimes we just need a guide"--