Notes Left Behind

by Brooke Desserich, Keith Desserich

Overview

“Elena has left behind a story of resilience, hope and most of all, love. We can’t help but take her into our hearts, and carry the best of her into our own lives.”

—Jeffrey Zaslow, coauthor of The Last Lecture

 

Notes Left Behind by Brooke and Keith Desserich began as a journal they kept after their five-year-old daughter Elena was diagnosed with brain cancer and given just 165 days to live. As poignant and inspiring as Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture, it is the story of the courage of a truly remarkable little girl who accomplished so much in so little time—and of her parents’ love and dedication to their child and their family. New York Times bestselling author James Patterson was profoundly moved by Elena’s beautiful life and Notes Left Behind, calling it, “a stunning story that teaches us how precious children, family, and life are, and that the sacrifices we make are worth it. I won’t forget the Desserich family, and neither will you.”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061886409
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/26/2010
Pages:	250
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Brooke and Keith Desserich live in Cincinnati with their daughter, Gracie. They have several businesses, but their main professions are as a mother and a father. With the help of family and many friends, they founded The Cure Starts Now, a revolutionary cancer foundation dedicated to a "home run" cure strategy for all cancers, starting first with one of the most deadly and difficult cancers: pediatric brain cancer.

Brooke and Keith Desserich live in Cincinnati with their daughter, Gracie. They have several businesses, but their main professions are as a mother and a father. With the help of family and many friends, they founded The Cure Starts Now, a revolutionary cancer foundation dedicated to a "home run" cure strategy for all cancers, starting first with one of the most deadly and difficult cancers: pediatric brain cancer.

What People are Saying About This

James Patterson

“This is a stunning story that teaches us how precious children, family, and life are, and that the sacrifices we make are worth it. I won’t forget the Desserich family, and neither will you.”

Jeffrey Zaslow

“Elena has left behind a story of resilience, hope and most of all, love. We can’t help but take her into our hearts, and carry the best of her into our own lives.”

Editorial Reviews

This is a stunning story that teaches us how precious children, family, and life are, and that the sacrifices we make are worth it. I won’t forget the Desserich family, and neither will you.

James Patterson

"Elena has left behind a story of resilience, hope and most of all, love. We can’t help but take her into our hearts, and carry the best of her into our own lives."

Jeffrey Zaslow

A Cincinnati couple bravely and lovingly recorded the last months of their six-year-old daughter's life after she was handed the devastating prognosis of terminal brain cancer. A trip to the doctor's office to treat Elena's strep throat resulted in an MRI that revealed a large tumor lodged within the walls of Elena's brain stem—“in the worst place with one of the worst tumors out there.” The kindergartener, who also had a younger sister, Grace, was given three to six months to live. A miracle was what the family hoped for, traveling to Memphis for six weeks of an experimental treatment involving intensive radiation, chemotherapy and tests; already Elena's speech, mobility and ability to eat had been affected, symptoms of the tumor's progression that would recede and recur over the next several months. The parents kept this diary from November 29, the beginning of their daughter's treatment, until her death August 11, “Day 256,” written in alternating POVs (mostly Keith's; Brooke's is rendered in italics), even recording some of Elena's own musings, such as that all she wanted was to be “normal.” The parents remained resolute in her treatment, even upbeat despite the anger Keith felt at the “unfairness” of this disease. Instead of planning their daughter's future, the Desseriches sadly found themselves “counting [her] days.” This heartbreakingly forthright journal helped the authors push back that “second-worst day”—when the memory of their daughter would be forgotten. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Elena has left behind a story of resilience, hope and most of all, love. We can’t help but take her into our hearts, and carry the best of her into our own lives.” — Jeffrey Zaslow, coauthor, The Last Lecture

“This is a stunning story that teaches us how precious children, family, and life are, and that the sacrifices we make are worth it. I won’t forget the Desserich family, and neither will you.” — James Patterson, bestselling author

From the Publisher