Stories of Support by Susan Lewis

Published on 30 September
Published by Random  House, Cornerstone
Purchase from Amazon here

The Blurb:

An inspirational collection of true stories, introduced and edited by Sunday Times bestselling author Susan Lewis and published in support of Breast Cancer Care.

All of us face challenges in our lives and when things get really difficult we often need someone to help us through. That someone can be the person closest to us, or someone we least expected, or even, in some cases, a total stranger.

The Stories of Support campaign was set up for people to share their story of how someone helped them, in order to raise awareness and funds for Breast Cancer Care. In Susan Lewis’s novel, Never Say Goodbye, two strangers are brought together by tragedy and the bond that develops between them profoundly changes both their lives. Through Stories of Support Susan wanted to acknowledge the remarkable people who have given their support to friends, family, colleagues or the community.

The five women who wrote the stories in this collection were selected by Susan Lewis because of their moving accounts of the exceptional support they have experienced from selfless friends and family through the most difficult of times. With an introduction from Susan Lewis, Shelley, Kate, Julie, Jane and Jeanette show the restorative power of love and friendship in a collection of stories they hope will inspire many others.

My review:

What a beautiful. moving and inspirational set of short stories. If you need a reminder of how strong and loving people are this is perfect. I am in awe of the five ladies who have shared their stories with us readers. I wasnt initially going to review this book but felt compelled to tell others about it as I fell in love with it so much. 

The book is available on kindle for just 99p. It is very short at only 63 pages long, and it wont take very long to read. But in my opinion it is worth every single penny. Us readers get to hear very intimate and heartwrenching true tales of five readers experience of serious illness, particularly breast cancer, and how their friends and family helped them through the toughest of times. We read of such sadness and uncertainty, and times that must be so so scary to go through. Yet never once does it come across as maudlin or poor me. It was beautiful and uplifting to hear how their relationships made things better. 

From the introduction by Susan Lewis I was entranced. I felt very humbled that she and others were willing to share very intimate and very difficult times with us. It feels like they have shared a gift to be treasured by me. It was a stark reminder that no matter how rubbish life feels, I should appreciate what I have, make the most of every day, and look out for others who will in turn look out for me. Love and having someone you can trust to stick with you are the most important things.

I have been reflecting on the stories today and realising that I need to be more open and willing to accept support as well as give it more unconditionally. I believe this book will make a difference to me and others who read it. 

Thank you to Susan and the contributors for sharing their stories and inspiring me to be a better and stronger person.