I just read one of my 16 year old daughter’s books – ‘Before I Die’ by Jenny Downham.

Talk about traumatic! My mascara was everywhere by the end of the book. The book is about a teenager who is dying of leukaemia and has a sort of ‘Bucket List’ – a list of things she wants to do before she dies.

It’s a very uplifting book and raises many issues about how we deal with death. The girl in question has a 10 year old brother and some of the questions he has about his sister’s imminent death are at the same time funny and immensely sad.

There’s a programme on TV tonight called ‘Teenagers Fighting Cancer’ and I can imagine that many of the teenagers featuring will be going through similar emotions to Tessa in ‘Before I Die’.

I don’t want to spoil the book by going into any more detail but try and have a read of it sometime.

It’s all about seizing the moment and celebrating life while you’ve got the chance. I’ve always wondered how I would react if I or one of the people close to me were diagnosed with a terminal disease, well this book takes you through the reactions of mother, father, brother, best friend, boyfriend and even the morbid curiosity of school friends.

It’s well worth reading this Random House book but make sure you’ve got a box of tissues handy!

K