As I watched my four darling children from my wheelchair, I realized this battle through illness had never been about ringing the bell and surviving the fire. I had what mattered all along. The only thing more powerful than fear, sickness, regret, and loss...the only thing stronger than death is love. Nothing could take that away from me. So, whether I died in my 40s or someone created a miracle cure, I needed to discover peace within myself before it was too late. Yet, as I reflected on recent adventures—swimming in Jamaica, fiddling in New York, backpacking across Italy, and skydiving with family—I couldn’t help thinking about the irony. While crossing items off my bucket list as a terminal cancer patient, I’d found purpose in the most unexpected places. How odd that it took dying for me to truly live.
Author
EC Stilson has authored over ten novels, novellas, and children’s picture books. Two of her memoirs, THE GOLDEN SKY and HOMELESS IN HAWAII, have become No. 1 bestsellers on Amazon for women’s memoir. Since 2011, through fundraisers, book donations, and national radio interviews, EC Stilson has helped raise thousands of dollars for organizations such as Angel Watch, Portneuf Medical Center, the Pregnancy Resource Center, the American Diabetes Association, and Primary Children's Hospital. When she's not working as a copy editor, she's parenting, fiddling, writing, or speaking at events for infant-loss support groups or cancer awareness organizations. Her most recent memoir, TWO MORE YEARS, came out in 2022 and details the author's battle with stage four melanoma.
