Gracie’s Illness

The novel’s main character, Grace Barrett, is diagnosed with late stage T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia.

Much of the research for the illness was obtained by diaries written by Viv’s mother, Margaret Smith, who passed away from the disease on 26th June, 1998. Like Grace, Margaret was a strong woman who loved her life and her family. She was a nurturer and fought the disease with every fiber of her being. She strongly believed her family needed her and was determined ‘anything was possible’ and she was ‘not going anywhere.’

The links below contain interesting information about the disease, one with an option to donate to help raise awareness and to develop a cure or treatments.

Rare Cancers

Baylor University Medical Center