Before I Die

Description

Tessa has just a few months to live. Fighting back against hospital visits, endless tests, drugs with excruciating side-effects, Tessa compiles a list. It's her To Do Before I Die list. And number one is sex. Released from the constraints of 'normal' life, Tessa tastes new experiences to make her feel alive while her failing body struggles to keep up. Tessa's feelings, her relationships with her father and brother, her estranged mother, her best friend, her new boyfriend, all are painfully crystallized in the precious weeks before Tessa's time finally runs out. "Before I Die" is a brilliantly-crafted novel, heartbreaking yet astonishingly life-affirming. It will take you to the very edge.

Promotion info

An intensely moving and uncompromisingly honest story told in the words of a 16-year-old girl who is dying of leukaemia.

Awards

Winner of Inky Awards: Silver Inky 2008. Shortlisted for Brandford Boase Award 2008.

Author description

Jenny Downham was an actress for many years before concentrating on her writing full-time. She lives in London with her two sons.