Anitra Simmons Memoir Embracing Life from Death Named Finalist in American Bookfest Awards

ENUMCLAW, Wash. - Nov. 13, 2018 - PRLog -- Award-winning author Anitra Simmons is pleased to announce that her debut memoir, Embracing Life from Death: A Caregiver's Journey Through Glioblastoma, Grief, and Healing (ISBN 978-1979111331) has been named a Finalist in the 2018 American Bookfest Best Book Awards in the Health: Death and Dying category. A heartfelt rendering of a caregiver's journey, Embracing Life from Death follows Simmons as she struggles first with the sudden arrival of her husband's life-altering glioblastoma diagnosis and then with the daily reality of caring for him, even as she realizes that he is dying.

When Simmons husband, Dean, appears at the couple's back door one day disheveled, filthy, drenched with sweat, and claiming to not remember how to get into his own house, Simmons knows that something is incredibly wrong. Medical tests reveal that Dean has Stage 4 glioblastoma, an incurable form of brain cancer. Simmons recounts the numbness and shock after hearing the diagnosis, as well as the ensuing chaos that occurs as she struggles to help Dean make difficult treatment decisions, deal with physicians, nurses, pathologists, oncologists and other members of the traditional and holistic medical communities, and navigate through the conflicting range of emotions she and her husband experience while he undergoes surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and a host of other treatments for symptoms caused by his illness.

In addition to Dean's illness, Simmons must also face her daughter's battle with metastatic melanoma and her father's death as a result of a stroke. Once Dean passes, Simmons is left alone to make sense of the aftermath as she experiences the grief and pain of losing a loved one after nine brutal months of a debilitating terminal illness. She shares insights into her exploration of the afterlife, including undeniable spiritual signs and mediums she visits after her husband's death, and begins to heal by volunteering for cancer organizations and providing care during her daughter's ongoing battle with cancer. Despite all of the tremendous heartbreak and loss, Simmons comes to a remarkable conclusion: that we are here to evolve, to be kind and compassionate, and to offer our loved ones and those around us our services, our time and, ultimately, our unconditional love.

"I'm so pleased that this book has been recognized by the American Bookfest Awards committee," said Simmons. "I hope that this award helps build awareness about glioblastoma and that those who read the book might gain insight into the different options for treatment and realize that they are not alone."

A writer and construction business owner, Anitra Simmons has worked in the real estate industry for over twenty years as a finance manager specializing in small business accounting, bookkeeping, and management. She currently runs her own exterior maintenance service company, Cedar Creek Contractors, LLC. Simmons continues to volunteer her time with endbraincancer.org and promote her memoir, Embracing Life from Death, in the hopes that someone will finally find a cure. Simmons resides in Enumclaw, Washington, with her dog, Cady.

For more information about the author or Embracing Life from Death, please visit https://www.anitramariesimmons.com.

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