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'This honest and beautiful book is a story of resilience and doing life your way' Fearne Cotton'Kris's story should make you feel grateful for every second you're alive. It's a testament to her positivity, empathy, bravery and her unfailing sense of humour' Dermot O'Leary'A manifesto for how to be alive. It will leave you calm, hopeful and unafraid' Dawn O'PorterKris was living a totally normal life as a twenty-three-year-old: travelling the world, falling in love, making plans. However, when she found a lump in her boob and was told that it was not only cancer, but also incurable, life took on a completely new meaning. She was diagnosed at an age when life wasn't something to be grateful for, but a goddamn right.Little did Kris know it was cancer that would lead her to a life she had never considered: a happy one. From founding a charity to visiting Downing Street, campaigning at festivals to appearing on TV, and being present at the birth of her nephew; in the face of all the possible prognoses, Kris thrived.Glittering a Turd is more than just another cancer memoir; it's a handbook for living life to the fullest, shining a new perspective on survival and learning to glitter your own turd, whatever it might be. Kris survived the unsurvivable for fifteen years. This is her story.
List of contents
Introduction
The Turd
The 'Now What?' Bit
Before the Turd
Boys
Getting to Know the Turd
I Made a Scarf
The Cancer Poster Girl
Friends in High Places (With Too Many Christmas Trees)
One-Tit Wonder
The Glitter
Being Scared But Doing It Anyway
He-Man
Epic-Genetics
Life on Film
C-Word, The Movie
Going to the Maldives
Imposter Syndrome with a Floppy Hat
Time to Sharpen My Saw
Alive to Do Those Things
Chewing on a Dandelion
The Year of the Sugar Cube
Breathe
Worthiness
A Strong Reason for Living
In Summary: Not Dead
Afterword
Acknowledgements
Supporters
About the author
Kris Hallenga lives in Cornwall with her cat, Lady Marmalade. At twenty-three she was diagnosed with Stage 4, secondary, incurable cancer. She and her twin sister Maren founded the first breast cancer education charity, CoppaFeel!, which raises over £2 million per year, successfully campaigned to change the school curriculum, and has saved many lives. She has received a Pride of Britain Award, a Cosmopolitan Campaigner of the year award, and been awarded an honorary doctorate from Nottingham Trent University. Kris stepped down as CEO five years ago and now pursues speaking engagements, writing, dipping in the cold sea whilst working for CoppaFeel! part time. Occasionally she even finds time to remember she has cancer.
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"This honest and beautiful book is a story of resilience and doing life your way."- Fearne Cotton, author of Bigger Than Us: The Power of Finding Meaning in a Messy World
"Kris's story should make you feel grateful for every second you're alive. It's a testament to her positivity, empathy, bravery and her unfailing sense of humour." - Dermot O'Leary, The X Factor
"A manifesto for how to be alive. It will leave you calm, hopeful and unafraid." - Dawn O'Porter, author of So Lucky
"Words so powerful that I weep and snort with laughter in equal measure' - Metro
"Kris's writing is frank and funny, the lightness of her tone in stark contrast with the graveness of her experience ... By the end I wanted to give her a standing ovation." - Annie Mac, DJ and broadcaster
"The life-affirming boost we all need." - Giovanna Fletcher, bestselling author
