Giveaway – The Light in the Darkness by Jo St Leon #jostleon @GoddessFish

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The Light in the Darkness: Musings on Living With Cancer by Jo St Leon

GENRE:   BODY, MIND & SPIRIT / Inspiration & Personal Growth

BLURB

The Light in the Darkness is a must-have companion for anyone living with a serious illness, or caring for a loved one with such an illness.

With this collection of reflections and personal essays, Jo St Leon shares her experiences, her darkest moments and her greatest joys. She tells of the journey from fear and denial to acceptance and a determination to live her best life. She shares her deepest thoughts and feelings, always with her characteristic blend of wry humour and wisdom.

The Light in the Darkness is the book Jo wishes she could have found when she first received her cancer diagnosis.

Tell us about your cover

My cover is a particular source of joy to me. It expresses exactly how I feel after living with a cancer diagnosis for six years. I marvel that the Tellwell designer seemed to read my mind.

My initial requests concerning the cover were very vague. I have no talent for design, and although I had an idea of how I would like it to look, I had no faith that this idea was a good one. I thought that if I gave the very sketchiest of information, the designer would come up with something that looked good. Worst case scenario: I had one revision as part of my publishing package, so I could tweak it, or even perhaps reject it altogether.

My requests were something like: mostly dark, with pops of light. What came back was good beyond my wildest dreams. I don’t know if the cover artist read the book, but s/he encapsulated the whole of the content with this one image. No revisions necessary. I sent back a joyous ‘Oh, yes!’ straight away.

So what is it that I love so much? First, it’s the way that the darkness is a landscape. There are so many shades of dark—near-black, grey, darkening, lightening—the hidden depths are extraordinary, and beautiful. There are mountains and valleys, peaks and troughs. This is very much how receiving a cancer diagnosis felt to me. I didn’t fall into the depths of despair, as I might have expected to do, and my world didn’t turn black. Rather, there was this inner world that didn’t have the vividness of the outer world, but was there for me to explore. The book is really a telling of that exploration.

Then there is the light, and the figure gazing into it. It’s almost a religious image, although it’s not a religious book. But the suggestion of walking towards this transfixing light is irresistible, and very much how it felt as I neared the end of the writing. When the book told me it was finished, and there was nothing I could usefully add, it felt a bit like emerging from a chrysalis. For me, and I think for many people, receiving a serious diagnosis prompts much soul-searching. It’s a search for meaning, a need to understand and integrate one’s shadow self, and a determination to live with authenticity for however many weeks, months or years remain.

I think the cover suggests all this and more, although I don’t think anyone idly picking up the book in a bookshop would instantly say all that I’ve just said. This is where I think the cover is so clever—it suggests mystery and majesty. It invites readers in to find out more.

The lettering on the cover is the work of a very dear calligrapher friend, Gemma Black, who donated her services for what she believed to be an important cause. In recognition of her generosity, I am donating $1 from each book sale to Cancer Research.

AUTHOR Bio and Links

Jo St Leon is a musician and writer living in Hobart, Tasmania. Receiving a cancer diagnosis in 2016 prompted her to transition from being a full-time musician who loved to write to being a full-time writer who loves to sometimes play the viola. She shares her house with two very pampered felines. She loves reading, cooking, swimming and yoga.

Connect with Jo St. Leon

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