Today I attended City of Hope’s 39th Annual Celebration of Life Bone Marrow Transplant Reunion with my mom. As always, a special and emotional time for me. Here’s a short excerpt from my forthcoming memoir. Be well.

As our bodies weaken, whether through modern medicine or aging, our minds begin to wander. With these travels, we devise new ways to see and interpret the world around us and, especially, within us. Our big, broad outer world shrinks down to just a dust mote floating by in a ray of sunshine. This transformation is magical. Our minds expand as our bodies contract, pulling away from pain and mentally moving toward lightness and freedom. Sometimes a simple joke frees us from the physical hardship we must endure. Tell a joke, watch as a smile dances across the lips. For an instant, the person is swept away on the notes of a waltz, far away from the agony of her innards being stripped down literally to the bone, to only later be rebuilt from the scratch of another person.