tani reviewed on
This short book (160pp.) is old, from before the days of ISBNs, and I have kept it for decades. This true story takes place in Sweden. It was written by the "Princess's" husband and is the story of how they met and married when she was 23, a nurse, and ill with Hodgkins disease, a form of blood cancer. Back in those days--the book was copyrighted in 1967--she didn't have very much of a chance at surviving it, yet she had always dreamed of having a husband and baby.
As the courtship progressed and they married, her depression and indifference gradually turned to joy, and then, in the middle of her treatment, she discovered she was pregnant. The doctors wanted her to continue the treatment, but to her, the baby was more important than her own life. And in insisting on having it, she saved her own life.
I didn't know whether to post this under Medical, Family, Romance, or Biography. It is a bit of all of them, but most of all, it is inspirational because the Princess is cured, and you have the feeling that sheer joy and love are what did it. The Postscript, written by the then Director for Research and Medical Affairs at the American Cancer Society, ends, "This delightful story...may kindle a spark or fan a flame of hope in the hearts of other persons with cancer or other serious illnesses."
As the courtship progressed and they married, her depression and indifference gradually turned to joy, and then, in the middle of her treatment, she discovered she was pregnant. The doctors wanted her to continue the treatment, but to her, the baby was more important than her own life. And in insisting on having it, she saved her own life.
I didn't know whether to post this under Medical, Family, Romance, or Biography. It is a bit of all of them, but most of all, it is inspirational because the Princess is cured, and you have the feeling that sheer joy and love are what did it. The Postscript, written by the then Director for Research and Medical Affairs at the American Cancer Society, ends, "This delightful story...may kindle a spark or fan a flame of hope in the hearts of other persons with cancer or other serious illnesses."
