Hannah's Gift, Paperback

Transformative lessons in life learnt through a remarkable three-year-old girl's battle with cancer. From Hannah's story emerge five profound lessons - of truth, joy, faith, compassion and wonder - that have the power to change our lives.

Every once in a while a book comes along that can change your life - a book so special, it is destined not just to be read but to be cherished, to be passed from one reader to another as a precious gift. Filled with wisdom and grace, tears and laughter, Hannah's Gift is one such book. Maria Housden shares the transformative lessons in living she received from her three-year-old daughter Hannah, who brought courage, honesty and joy to her struggle with cancer.

During the last year of her short life, Hannah was fearless in the way she faced death - and irrepressibly joyful in the way she approached living. The little girl who wore her favourite red shoes into the operating theatre changed the life of everyone who came in contact with her. Now, in a book that preserves Hannah's indomitable spirit, Maria Housden offers the gift of her daughter's last year to all of us. In a lyrically told narrative, both moving and unforgettable, Housden recounts Hannah's battle with cancer in simple, straightforward language that transcends grief and fear to become a celebration.

Hannah's Gift nourishes the soul with an ageless wisdom all the more invaluable for having come from someone so young. A remarkable story, remarkably told, it will bring comfort to anyone touched by loss and renewed faith in the power of love.

Maria Housden has led bereavement support groups an speaks throughout the US to groups as diverse as church and civic organisations, high school students and medical professionals.