Episode 30 - Take my hair, but not my humour - how surviving cancer led to special times and a book to empower others with Emma Davies

This mum’s bounce back story starts with a single sentence that brought her world crashing down.  Sadly, statistics say that one in two of us will hear the words “it’s cancer” in our lifetime.  The good news is, the world is full of survivors!  In today’s episode, Emma shares her story of turning a difficult journey of recovery into something very special, with surprising gifts along the way.  Emma emerged not only as an amazing survivor full of a new-found health and zest for life, but also became a lawyer-turned-author of a brilliant new book Take my hair (but not my humour), to empower and inspire others and their nearest and dearest facing similar health challenges.

What we cover

• Turning 40 life was great, Emma composed a 40 things at 40 list
• How Emma was just starting back to work after a long Maternity leave with her youngest, when she received a devastating blow
• Feeling sad for her children and the fear for them possibly having to grow up without a mum
• How having 2 young children kept her going through sick leave as it got her up in the morning
• Having Chemo enabled Emma to live one day at a time and taught her to slow down
• Turning her journal into a book as a reminder of her thoughts and to help anyone else who is going through a tough time or supporting someone through a tough time

Mentioned in the episode

 Take My Hair but not my humour : One mum's journey seeing off Breast Cancer: Amazon.co.uk: Davies, Emma: Books

More about Emma

Emma lives with her husband Darren, small humans Chloe and Toby and fur baby Arthur in Devon. Lawyer by day, representing nurses subject to fitness to practise proceedings, she is now an author by night having written and shared here story following an unexpected triple negative cancer diagnosis in 2019.

Throughout her cancer treatment Emma found it cathartic to journal as a way of emptying her head. She was also sending weekly mini blogs to her friends and family and after calls of ‘You should write a book’ she thought ‘I bloody will’. And has. ‘Take my hair (but not my humour): one mum’s journey seeing off breast cancer’ was self-published on the 1st October 2020. It’s a ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ style journey of Emma’s journey through breast cancer treatment sharing the highs, the lows and everything in-between.

Wanting to give back to FORCE Cancer charity (a fantastic charity that helped both Emma and her mum through ‘the shit sandwich situation’) she donates £2 from every paperback sold. Emma hopes that by sharing her stories she can hold the hand of others going through similar big life experiences but also their loved ones who may be looking in and wondering how they can help.

Emma’s eBook became an Amazon number 1 best seller. You can buy special edition copies, with photos, directly from Emma by emailing her [email protected]. You won't get that from Amazon!

Contact details:

 @lightboxblogger

https://www.lightboxblogger.co.uk

In collaboration with...

When I met Ashley, the CEO of the insurance company Bounce, and Rachel Brookes, the Network Development Manager, it was clear from the start that Bounce and Mpower share similar values around empowering others (particularly mothers) and creating opportunities to flexibly combine earning a great living with motherhood.

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