A woman, who turned to writing to help deal with the death of her father, has penned a heartwarming children’s book with sales supporting research into brain tumours.
Ash Hunter has written her first book, A Different Day, which provides a sensitive and relatable resource for children navigating the complex emotions surrounding death and grief. It is a tale of friendship between a puppy called Lilo, a character based loosely on Ash’s golden retriever, who bears the same name, and her best friend, Mo.
She will be donating £1 from the sale of each book to Brain Tumour Research, inspired by her father, Kenny, who died in April 2020, aged 51.
Kenny was diagnosed with thyroid cancer a week before his 40th birthday in January 2009. The father-of-two had his thyroid and lymph nodes removed, and part of a lung four years later, but went on to develop nine secondary brain tumours.
Ash is hoping to raise at least £2,740 to sponsor a day of research at one of our Centres of Excellence.
She said: “The reason I feel so strongly about supporting Brain Tumour Research is because Dad’s brain tumours were the point at which we were told there was nothing that could be done.
“We always knew his cancer was terminal but we deemed him as living with cancer. The brain tumours are when things changed and we said ‘oh, he’s dying of it now’.”
Ash’s writing started after a counselling session as a way to deal with her grief over losing her dad. She added: “If I can help just one person deal with the ideas that no one lives forever and loss gets easier over time, then I will feel like I’ve achieved something.”
To purchase a copy of A Different Day, click here.