Esther Earl?s middle name was Grace and she lived her short, bitter-sweet 16 years of life by that virtue alone. Earl was diagnosed with thyroid cancer when she was 12 years old. For the next four years, she went through a life-changing, scary experience with great dignity. And though one has to shed many tears at what this little girl had to go through because of this dreaded disease, you also can?t help but smile at Earl?s positive attitude,
her child-like acts and the wonderful letters she wrote. This memoir is a collection of her journals, letters, sketches and photographs.
At the time Esther Grace Earl?her name means star in Persian?was diagnosed with cancer, her family (parents Lori and Wayne and siblings Abby, Evangeline, Graham and Abraham) was in France, having moved there from the US in December 2005. They moved back to Boston in 2007, hoping to get assistance in finding a remission and cure. But as her attending physician writes, ?Esther?s case was different… her cancer had spread…? and yet ?as her disease progressed, she fought with such poise and dignity?.
Her parents tell us that from the time she was little, ?Esther was certain she was going to be a writer… From about age 8, she began keeping a diary…? Even when her family struggled to stay positive, ?Esther chose to see things differently?, recall her parents. ?Throughout her treatment, she felt that, overall, life had been good to her. She had the love of family, friends, and she was daily renewed in her focus on a mission to comfort and care for others.? Two weeks after her 16th birthday, she tweeted: ?Like if I can ask for three talents they?d be able to reach into bodies (without hurting them) and remove all cancer, able to dance and Words.?
She left behind a host of beautiful sketches, including one of a boot with shoestrings and a smiling face. We also learn through the book that her favourite animal was a cat. Her favourite book was Harry Potter and the one thing that made her special was that ?my middle name is Grace?. She also loved the sea??even her face seemed made for the sand and sea breaking out in splashes of freckles at summer?s first light!? The sea is very dear to me, Earl once wrote, ?everytime I look at it,/It looks back at me…?
Earl packed in a lot in her 16 years of life, as her parents and friends?many made on the Internet after she made a video journal of her terminal illness on YouTube?recall fondly. For Christmas 2008, she wrote a long letter to her parents: ?…I do hope that when the day comes, whether in 1, 10, or 100 years, I don?t want you to think of me and feel sad… Think of me and think of the sunshine, and how I love animals, and drawing something nice…?
The memoir shows us how Earl clung on to normality despite the great suffering. But even when she was afraid, lonely or sick, she remained positive. Young writer John Green?he had met Earl at a Harry Potter convention?dedicated his bestseller The Fault Lies in our Stars to her, and he writes a touching introduction for the real star?s book who did become an author, though posthumously.
Sudipta Datta is a freelancer