|  | Authors: Brooke Desserich, Keith Desserich
Publisher: William Morrow
List Price: $19.99
Buy Used: $3.45
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Seller: beneaththestairs
Rating:  50 reviews
Sales Rank: 94500
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 272
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.2
ISBN: 0061886394
Dewey Decimal Number: 362.196994810092
EAN: 9780061886393
ASIN: 0061886394
Publication Date: November 1, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Dust jacket shows shelf wear. Strong binding. Text is clean and unmarked.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 50
 a family journey through cancer and the loss of a child December 17, 2009
N. Ferguson (Ohio)
"Notes Left Behind" is best understood as an unedited, honest, and plainspoken journal written by the parents of a little girl who eventually loses her fight against an aggressive cancer.
Both parents share their thoughts, hopes, and fears, sharing with the reader the roller coaster of emotions they experienced during this most painful and challenging time of their lives. Especially touching are the sweet notes they discovered after their daughter Elena's death. Elena hid many drawings and notes expressing her love for her family around their house, knowing that she was approaching death and wanting to provide her family with comfort after her passing. These are included, and are deeply touching.
A compelling memoir about the daily experiences of a family coping with cancer and eventually the loss of their precious child.
Inspirational "Notes" of Grace December 17, 2009
Shannon Freeman (Tennessee)
Cancer is never pleasant. Even more disturbing is when a young child, full of promise, is plucked up as the next victim. A death sentence handed to a little girl. Doesn't sound like a muse for good reading. Yet, Brooke and Keith Desserich take tragedy and turn it into inspiration with their chronology of their daughter's illness in "Notes Left Behind". The nature of the subject is ill-inspired, but the Desseriches transform what should never happen into a world of possibilities.
The parents chronicle the last days of a cancer patient who loves the color pink and tea parties, and displays nothing but grace and wisdom. While most of us were playing at being a grown-up, little Elena had no choice but to become one..... for real. Mostly written from the father's point of view, with insertions from mom, the Desseriches share the experience of supporting their little girl with refreshing honesty and clarity, exploring feelings while describing actual experiences. In her fight to "just be normal",Elena far surpassed what most of us go about every day. In order to transcend her fears and pain, Elena drew from a font of love, grace and...... sheer magic to remain hopeful, positive and, always, a vigilant fighter. Her parents bravely followed her lead.
we are to be reminded of the fragility of life in reading a book such as this. We are also to be reminded we can't control our circumstances, but we can choose our response. The Desseriches exlempify how to go day by day, living the best we can, preserving what is precious, looking to enrich the lives of others, even as we suffer one of life's most unbearable events.
 Beautiful book December 14, 2009
i heart NOLA (New Orleans, LA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
"Notes Left Behind" is a beautiful journal that is deeply moving. You can't help but want to tell all the important people in your life how much you love them after reading this book. I would recommend that everyone read it. I also believe that it would make a great gift to someone special. Make sure to keep a box of Kleenex handy when reading this.
Raw, honest and very affecting December 14, 2009
Suzanne Amara (MA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is not a polished book, nor should it be. It's a harrowing look at the life of a child from the time she is diagnosed with cancer of the brain stem until her life ends. It will bring you to tears, but not by being sentimental and full of miracles and bravery, but by telling how it really feels day to day to live with one of the more horrible kinds of cancer. Elena sounds like a remarkable child, but unlike many books like this, she is not portrayed as a saint, suffering all without complaint. What 6 year old would suffer this kind of pain and disability without complaint---indeed, what person of any age would?
We are thrown right into the story---I do wish there had been a bit more told about the day the diagnosis was received, as the book starts on the day after, when the treatment begins. But I think the writing made me feel the way Elena's parents feel and the way I am sure many parents dealing with this kind of horror would feel. Each day is a world unto itself---one day it can seem like all will be fine in the end, another day, far from it, and this preserved well in the journal form of this book.
There is much honesty here. I was struck by the description of a Christmas gift giveaway at the hospital, and the parents who coached their children to pick a big, expensive gift. Both Elena and her father were horrified by this, and overwhelmed in not totally a good way by all the presents, "Make-a-Wish" type offers and the like that came there way---as if someone getting cancer was balanced out by winning a macabre lottery.
It was very early in my reading of this book that I started thinking about my daughter. She is blessedly healthy and God willing, will be with me for a long, long time. She is autistic, and might never learn to read, to write, to live on her own, but she is with us, and it had been a while since I'd felt this much gratitude for that fact. I think anyone reading this book would feel the same way.
Beautiful journal December 5, 2009
J.Wixon (PA United States)
Having had the experience of being a nurse to quite a few children who were not meant to stay in this world very long drove me to pick this title even though I knew it would be a very tough read.
Notes Left Behind takes the reader through the stages of grief that accompany such a grave diagnosis as pediatric brain cancer and is a sober reminder that nothing in life is to be taken for granted. From the optismism felt that Elena would beat the monster to the resignation that her vacations and healthy days were numbered these pages take you through a beautiful little girl's last months and the photos, memories and thoughts she shared before she left.
Hopefully this book will raise the money and awareness needed to fight these rare, but devastating pediatric brain cancers. I currently know of a teenage girl fighting for her life with a similar diagnosis.
I highly recommend this book, even if it is just to sit on the shelf as a silent reminder to life's fragility. It is for a great cause both in beating cancer and continuing the legacy of Elena.
Showing reviews 6-10 of 50
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