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"No
one should go through
serious illness with out
this book at his or her
side," according to Larry
Dossey, world renowned
expert on prayer and
healing, and the author of
Healing Words. Even more to
the point is the reaction
from the front lines, from
those in the trenches of
life’s hardship.
"I took your book to the
hospital with me, and the
prayers greatly calmed my
fears," writes Cathy
Frischkorn from Pittsburgh,
PA in a note to the author.
"Your book is powerful
because it is so emotionally
real," said Sally Fritz from
Waukesha, Wisconsin.
"There is nothing else like
this out there---I found the
visualizations to be
especially helpful. You
filled a great need with
compassion and hope",
commented Carole Morse from
South Park, PA.
All three women recently
underwent treatment for
breast cancer. And all took
comfort and courage from You
Are Never Alone: Prayers and
Meditations to Sustain You
through Breast Cancer by
Maureen Murray (Oncology
Nursing Society Press, 2004)
Murray said her three
biggest challenges with her
breast cancer diagnosis were
finding the right words to
tell her children, dealing
with anxiety during the
night, and staying positive
about treatment that seems
never-ending. She tried to
pray and found that
sometimes the words just
didn't come. Determined, she
searched for prayers that
related to her specific
circumstances, and came up
dry. Then inspiration
struck.
"The idea for the book
arrived at 3 a.m. several
months after my surgery,"
said Murray, a three year
survivor of breast cancer. I
woke up completely alert,
rapidly outlined the entire
book for two hours, and fell
back into a deep sleep. When
I looked at it the next day,
I chuckled at my
middle-of-the-night
productivity --- a real
first --- and I realized
that if it would help even
one woman, I had no choice
except to write it. It
answered my question of what
to give back to help other
women. Now my mission is to
spread the word about it."
You Are Never Alone contains
more than 60 conversational
prayers for every step of
the way, 20 simple
meditations to calm the
spirit, and a section of
resources for women to
request prayers. Of course,
there's a heartfelt prayer
before telling your
children. Others include
prayers to manage fear ---
especially in the middle of
the night----, prayers to
keep the statistics in
perspective, get through the
day, release anger, and to
accept help graciously.
There's even prayer for when
God seems far away, and
there are prayers of
thanksgiving because,
according to Murray,
gratitude heals the spirit.
"Writing it was sometimes a
real challenge," says
Murray, a professional
speaker and trainer who
lives in Pittsburgh with her
husband and two daughters.
"It forced me to relive some
dark days. But ultimately,
it was a deeply healing
process because it reminded
me how much prayer helped me
to cope."
Oncology Nursing Society,
publisher of You Are Never
Alone, is a national
organization of more than
30,000 registered nurses
committed to promoting
excellence in cancer care.
You Are Never Alone is
available at Amazon.com,
www.ons.org, and will be
available nationally through
major bookstores soon.
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