HELLO!'s Star Mum award winner Lisa Wells is set to fulfil her dream of writing a book. The mum-of-two, who was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel and liver cancer in October, is working on a picture book aimed at families like hers where a parent is faced with a terminal diagnosis.
Lisa has pulled together a team on social media to create and publish the book, called Only One of Me, in under two months. "Picture book creation is traditionally a slow process," Lisa told HELLO!. "There's so much to consider. Every word, every brush stroke, every turn of the page represents a thousand decisions. We're having to make our decisions fast and commit to them to meet our deadline."
Lisa Wells won HELLO!'s Star Mum award in March
The text was written by Lisa and children's author Michelle Robinson, with the aim of bringing comfort to families with a terminally ill parent. Two versions of the book will be released; one for families were the mum is faced with a terminal diagnosis, and the other for dads.
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"I live near Lisa and was put in touch by a friend who told me Lisa had a dream of writing a book. As soon as we met I knew Lisa had the ability and vision to create something truly special with the right people behind her," Michelle said of her decision to get involved. "Lisa's energy and magnetic personality has enabled us to assemble an amazing team in a crazily short space of time."
Lisa wants to leave a legacy for her daughters
The mum version of the book will be illustrated by Catalina Echeverri, a mum of an 18-month-old daughter who said she was touched by the story "profoundly". Meanwhile, illustrator Tim Budgen is working on the dad version of the book, and said he wants to give Lisa something she can cherish. While work is still underway, the team are planning to publish the book with Graffeg - an independent publisher - on 21 September 2018.
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It is just one of the amazing things Lisa has done since receiving her cancer diagnosis in 2017. The mum-of-two and her friends, family and supporters - #LisasArmyUK - have raised over £83,000 to date for the future of her girls and to donate to Dorothy House Hospice, near Bath, which provides support to the families of patients undergoing end of life care. "I want them to know their mum did all of this in their name," Lisa said of her girls. "My legacy will not be filled with sadness, but joy, laughter and love."