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  • Published: 18 September 2022
  • ISBN: 9781785043598
  • Imprint: Vermilion
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 240
  • RRP: $45.00

How to Live When You Could Be Dead




Drawing on the extraordinary and empowering perspective of Deborah James, this book will help readers flip their thinking and find the positive in any given life situation.

THE SUNDAY TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLER

'Deborah James has captured the heart of the nation' - The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge @KensingtonRoyal

'Brave, bright, beautiful' - Lorraine Kelly

'Deborah's ability to find positivity in the darkest of places is an inspiration to us all' - Davina McCall

'This book has shaken me awake. I gulped it down in one sitting, then sat and cried... [But] hope is a character on every single page' - Christie Watson

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I was alive when I should have been dead. In another movie, I missed the sliding door and departed this wondrous life long ago. Like so many others, I had to learn to live not knowing if I have a tomorrow, because, statistically, I didn't. At the age of 35, I was blindsided by incurable bowel cancer - I was given less than an 8 per cent chance of surviving five years. Five years later, my only option was to live in the now and to value one day at a time.

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How do you turn your mind from a negative spiral into realistic and rebellious hope? How do you stop focusing on the why and realise that 'why not me' is just as valid a question?

When Deborah James was diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer at just 35, she learned a powerful lesson: the way we respond to any given situation empowers or destroys us. And with the right skills and approach, we can all face huge challenges and find strength and hope in the darkest of places.

How to Live When You Could Be Dead will show you how. It will awaken you to question your life as if you didn't have a tomorrow and live it in the way you want to today. By harnessing the power of positivity and valuing each day as though it could be your last, you'll find out, as Deborah did, that it is possible to live with joy and purpose, no matter what.

Ebury, a division of Penguin Random House, will pay £3 from the sale of each copy of How To Live When You Could Be Dead by Deborah James sold in the UK to Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK. Cancer Research UK is a charity registered in England and Wales (1089464), Scotland (SC041666), Isle of Man (1103) and Jersey (247).

  • Published: 18 September 2022
  • ISBN: 9781785043598
  • Imprint: Vermilion
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 240
  • RRP: $45.00

About the author

Deborah James

Deborah James was a deputy head teacher leading national research teams into growth mindsets in schools. Then, in 2016, at the age of 35, she was diagnosed with bowel cancer and her life with her young children and husband was thrown upside down. She’s had 4 major operations including bowel and lung resections and multiple rounds of chemo – and is still undergoing treatment at the Royal Marsden. Rather than disappear into a cancer cave she started a blog, ‘bowel babe’ to debunk the myth that young women don't get bowel cancer and writes a weekly column for the Sun online, Things Cancer Made Me Say. She campaigns alongside major UK cancer charities, writes and presents the popular podcast ‘You, Me & the Big C’ for BBC’s Radio 5 Live, and has a built up a strong following on Instagram @bowelbabe.

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Praise for How to Live When You Could Be Dead

Dame Deborah James dedicated her life to helping others... with this book she will reach so many more, providing rebellious hope to the darkest of nights, and quite possibly changing how we think about death forever

Chrissie Watson, bestselling author of The Language of Kindness