The Naked Truth About Breast Cancer is an award-winning book for a reason. Its the extraordinary no-holds-barred story of the authors experience of breast cancer written and photographed as it happened. Were right there with her as she undergoes treatment whilst living alone during Melbournes two years of lockdowns, wondering if the virus would finish her off if the cancer didnt.
Theres a direct honesty about what its really like to go through cancer treatment, and to face mortality for the first time, a willingness to reveal every aspect of the experience. Its as raw as it gets. And its personal: the author talks directly to her reader, with a sense of warmth – and love – that imbues every page.
It is NOT a how-to book for breast cancer. Instead, its purpose is to empower and inspire the reader to be the heroine of her own journey.
The book is aesthetically beautiful – deliberately so – in defiance of the shame that still exists around this illness and womens bodies.
Jane doesnt flinch from reality: cancer is brutal. At the same time, she documents her profound journey into the mystic. We follow her as she goes deeper and deeper into loss, watching as her devastation becomes a glorious falling in love with life. Jane is able to capture how an experience with cancer can be both powerful and beautiful in spite of everything, showing us that all the cliches are true: in the end, love is the only thing that matters.
This book then is about so much more about breast cancer – its a love letter to life and living.
Jane is from the UK and has had senior roles in the corporate world for decades - in London and Melbourne. She currently runs her own innovation business working for large organisations and has a second book in the pipeline The Phoenix Years about women negotiating mid-life.
* Approaches breast cancer as a rite of passage rather than just a medical problem, a way to grow from this even though its hard. * The book provides information about what to expect at different stages, what no-one tells you about breast cancer and the treatment/s that follow, but also gives hope and support. It could be compared to books about what to expect when you’re having a baby in the way it provides information that is not openly talked about otherwise. * The book confront death head-on, but in a positive way, smashing away the taboo that many face when they want to discuss death. * There are no other books out there that has turned breast cancer into something beautiful - a 300 page full-colour coffee table book. Its very much in the spirit of creating art from pain. Publicty: Author has hired a marketing and PR team and will be doing the following and more: * Building a social media audience with daily/weekly video and other content * Major news/TV platforms * Follow-up to two interviews in The Age * A launch event * Will approach major breast cancer organisations about possible collaborations personal appearances, doing readings of sections of the book will be very powerful. * My breast cancer surgeon is quite famous/well known - Chantal Thornton - Ill be talking to her about opportunities.
* The book has won the Grand Prize for the overall Non-Fiction category at the Next Generation Indie Book Awards.
* The book has also won the Mind, Body, Spirit category and was a finalist in the Motivation category.
