Regine’s Book: A Teen Girl’s Last Words
DIARY OF A DYING GIRL:
17- year-old blogs about living with
leukemia and accepting death
Regine Stokke began
her blog after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia in 2008. Her
goal was to paint a realistic picture of what it’s like battling a
life-threatening illness—and to share her experience with the world. During the
15 months Regine was sick and to her death she transformed from an average
teenage girl, upset that she doesn’t have a private hospital room, to a
grateful and humble young woman with a deep appreciation for the beauty all
around her.
Regine’s
Book (Now in Paperback: ISBN: 978-936976-01-0;
April 1, 2014) is Regine’s story as it was written on her blog and is
supplemented with a selection of photos as well as comments from blog readers
and entries from those who loved her most. The book deals with all the facets
of living with cancer, from the good days to the bad and everything in between.
“I’ve been thinking
a lot about people who permanently lose their hair,” wrote Regine, who had lost
her own hair due to chemotherapy. “Can people actually get used to it? I
haven’t. Society today is obsessed with looks. [But] I wore a wig to the
hospital today and finally avoided all the stares. That felt good…”
At an age when
Regine’s biggest concern should have been what dress she was going to wear to
prom, she was worrying about whether or not the wig she’s wearing looks natural
and about all the things she may soon be leaving behind. “The fear of no longer
existing never goes away,” Regine laments only a few months before her death.
“I’m afraid to leave the world and I don’t want to do it. I think about my
family, and about my friends. I have to fight for them. I can’t leave them
behind with that sorrow. I have to try everything I can, despite how bleak
everything looks.”
It was this
incredible hope and love for others that carried Regine through the 15 months
of her illness. During this time she also had her photographs displayed in a
museum exhibit, attended concerts, enjoyed her friends and family and advocated
for others to register as blood and bone marrow donors. Regine’s Book shows her as a typical teenager in a terrifying
situation, with an amazing will to live, and the lessons she learned have
relevance for all of us. Through her eyes, readers will discover a more vivid
world—and a new appreciation for life, art, and the power of the human spirit.
Regine
Stokke was a lover of life—a poet, photographer, blogger, and leukemia patient,
who blogged about her devastating struggle with the illness and shared her
story with a world of strangers. Originally published in her homeland of
Norway, Regine’s Book was awarded the
Norwegian Literature Abroad (NORLA) foundation for a translation grant.
Regine's Book at Zest Books: http://zestbooks.net/regines-book/
Regine’s Book on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18281727-regine-s-book
Regine’s Book LibraryThing: http://www.librarything.com/work/12421089/book/107317356
Books can be ordered from these online booksellers, as well as from any bookstore:
IndieBound: [and your favorite independent bookseller by extension!] http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781936976010
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/regines-book-regine-stokke/1110873178?ean=9781936976201
The Book Depository (free shipping internationally to any country): http://www.bookdepository.com/Regines-Book-Regine-Stokke/9781936976010
Review:
Several times I've asked myself how to review this book. How do I capture the essence of this book without muddling it? This is a book that will strike you to the core, thrash you about, bring smiles to your face and tears rolling down your cheeks. Regine's words, her photos, her fears, her highs, her lows, her love, her hope and her acceptance of the end. The words of a teen, one moment doing normal teen things and the next getting bone marrow biopsies and chemo and struggling through each day and welcoming another day as she opened her eyes. The love she had for her family and the love her family has for her. The things they miss about her and the things they know they will miss experiencing with her.
Wrote through the last full change of season's of Regine's life, starting in Autumn 2008 and ending in Autumn 2009, you are brought into her life through journal entries, blog entries, letters, poems, photos, etc. One thing you will notice is that throughout everything, even when Regine was at her lowest points, she thought of others too. She loved life and did her best to help those around her also love life and think of the positive instead of the negative. A girl of strength that has moved mountains with the emotions that come through in this book. No one will turn the final page in this book without having ran through a gauntlet of emotions, no matter how young or old they are.
Cancer affects millions of Americans every year. According to the
American Cancer Society:
- Half
of all men and one third of all women in the U.S. will develop cancer
during their lifetimes
- Leukemia
causes one third of all cancer deaths of children and adolescents under 15
years of age
- 1,660,290 new cancer cases were expected to be diagnosed in
the U.S. in 2013
- Nearly
150,000 new leukemia cases were diagnosed in
the U.S. in 2013
Most teens likely know someone affected by cancer,
but don’t know the details of what it’s like to live day to day with the
disease. Regine’s Book tells the intimate story of one teen living with
cancer—putting a face on this terrible epidemic and illuminating the importance
of becoming a bone marrow donor.
Zest
Books made a donation to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training in
Regine’s honor upon publication of her book.
# # #
Regine’s Book: A Teen Girl’s Last Words
by Regine Stokke
October 24, 2012; $16.99 U.S.; hardcover; ISBN-13: 978-1-936976-20-1
NEW IN PAPERBACK: April 1, 2014,
$9.99 U.S.
324 pages; Ages 14+
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Regine Stokke began to
blog about her day-to-day life shortly after she was diagnosed with leukemia in
2008. Regine’s stated purpose with her posts was to give people a sense of
"what it's like to live with" such a serious illness, and her blog
became an almost instant classic. It was first adapted into book form in 2010,
and became a bestseller in Norway. Regine was also a gifted photographer, and
had her photos exhibited at both the 2009 and the 2010 Nordic Light photography
festivals in Kristiansund. Regine's blog -- it's in her native Norwegian, and can be found here: http://sinober.blogg.no/
Henriette Larsen (translator) grew up
in Switzerland and the U.S., speaking Norwegian at home. She has fond memories
of beautiful summers (but no winters) in Norway. She earned a Bachelor's degree
in French Literature from Pomona College and completed graduate coursework in
French and Comparative Literature at SFSU. Henriette lives in San Francisco.
Social Media links:
Twitter: Please use the
#ReginesBook hashtag!
Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/zestbook
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BooksWithATwist
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/zestbooks/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/zestbooks
Instagram: http://instagram.com/zestbooks
INTERNATIONAL
One paperback edition of Regine's Book plus an orange ribbon,
the color of leukemia awareness.
How to enter? Leave a blog comment. Maybe a memoriam for a loved one, prayers for Regine's family, helpful thoughts for others dealing with any type of cancer, etc.
Giveaway closes April 13th at 11:59pm EST
Giveaway closes April 13th at 11:59pm EST
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