Pre-Order Your Copy

LIVING TO DIE draws readers into a family's fourteen-year-long odyssey through a mother's recurrent breast cancer, medical negligence, and the relentless pursuit of justice.

Please check your email to confirm.

An Unconventional Journey

In a small town in Connecticut one summer day, a thirty-nine-year-old mother goes for a routine screening mammogram and an abnormality is suspected. Six days later at the follow-up mammogram, the woman's breast cancer is missed. Ten months later, by the time her cancer is finally diagnosed, it had spread to her lymph nodes. Drawing on deep wells of hope and raw grit, she wages a fight for her life and for accountability, challenging a medical system that failed her.

Through meticulous reporting and intimate storytelling, LIVING TO DIE chronicles her unconventional journey of a missed diagnosis, the legal crusade against medical negligence, and the fierce love that kept a family whole. This narrative investigates the incandescent strength of a woman determined to leave a legacy of justice.

Inside the Book

A resilient mother's struggle to fight for justice and survive breast cancer on her own terms. LIVING TO DIE is an impeccably researched narrative spanning a missed diagnosis, courtroom drama, jury misconduct, and the legal ramifications that follow.

For Readers Who...

Would like to go behind the scenes in a complex, real medical and legal thriller. For those who savor a heartwarming family drama. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with breast cancer, have been misdiagnosed, or are interested in alternative medicine

Ideal For

Book clubs, advocacy organizations, graduate law and medical curriculums

About the Author

My love of writing began in third grade when a teacher spotlighted my composition to the class. After majoring in English literature at Mt. Holyoke College, I earned a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Wesleyan University in creative, writing while raising my family. I went on to teach writing and poetry at Central Connecticut State University.

My essays and narrative nonfiction have appeared in The New York Times, The Hartford Courant, Northeast Magazine, Seasons Magazine, and Latitudes. I was honored by the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists for outstanding feature writing. LIVING TO DIE is my debut nonfiction book.

I can't draw a stick figure, but I'm an amateur street photographer. I suppose capturing the reality of the world a through a lens is a lot like writing nonfiction. I love welcoming friends around the table, walking, swimming, working out, and escaping to the beach. When I first met Brenda, I knew I had to tell her intriguing story. I invite you to join me on Brenda Sawicki's incredible journey.

Susan G. Komen

The world's largest nonprofit source of funding for the fight against breast cancer, working to save lives and end breast cancer forever.

National Breast Cancer Foundation

Providing help and inspiring hope to those affected by breast cancer through early detection, education and support services.

Patient Advocate Foundation

Provides direct patient services to Americans with chronic, life threatening and debilitating illnesses to access care and treatment.

View All Resources

LIVING TO DIE