Clara Lock - Stay Gold: An almost healthy boy in a mostly healthy world

This is a love story whose basic ingredients spell tragedy. Girl meets boy, boy dies before his 25th birthday. But this was no ordinary guy. Daniels defective, failing heart is matched by an instinct to lift others with his positive spirit. It could be worse, Daniel tells his mother when they hear he only has a few more months to live. His mother is incredulous: What could be worse? To go through it alone, without the support of family and friends, he replies. Clara Locks beautifully written paean to her late friend pays tribute to our capacity, underused by most of us, to live full lives by being there for others.

Cherian George, Professor, Hong Kong Baptist University and author of Singapore, Incomplete

Midway through this excellent book, I had to put it down, compose myself for days, before I found the strength to continue. Clara Locks vivid and authentic writing brought me to tears on numerous occasions. Yet the optimism of the protagonist gave the narrative an uplifting arc, offering hope and belief when none seemed possible. Stay Gold is a touching story which will keep you engaged, emotional and exhilarated. Keep the Kleenex near.

Peh Shing Huei, Singapore Literature Prize-winning author of When the Party Ends

Every so often, a book comes along that gives us strength, that inspires us, that reminds us of how lucky we are to be given the gift of life and the tremendous good we can do with the limited time we have. Daniels story teaches us just that. It is a must-read book to nourish your soul and inspire your heart.

Adam Khoo, bestselling author of I Am Gifted, So Are You!

Ill, but not ill. Believing, while not believing. Touching, though detached. Thats how the living faces the thought of dying. When Daniel was born, doctors said he would not live long. He thought he would not fall in love. But he did fall in love, and lived beyond his allotted time. He lived two weeks short of just one more precious, precarious year. In her ode to Daniel, a love that might have been, Clara Lock is evasive and therefore most revealing.

Margaret Chan, Associate Professor, Singapore Management University

This book is all heart. It tells of an extraordinary individual determined to embrace life in abundance, beyond physical limitations. Narrated in a voice that is refreshingly personal and compelling, the story drew me in with each carefully chosen and placed word. A heart-warming and timely read to urge us to value people without qualifiers.

Monica Lim, author of The Good, the Bad and the PSLE

A beautiful story about an amazing young man who was born with a medically imperfect heart, yet lived life more wholeheartedly than most. Clara weaves together an emotionally powerful narrative with an important lesson: Live every day fully.

Gaurav Keerthi, author of Think, Speak, Win

With the support of

2018 Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited

Text Clara Lock

Published by Marshall Cavendish Editions

An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International

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National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Name(s): Lock, Clara.

Title: Stay gold : an almost healthy boy in a mostly healthy world / Clara Lock.

Description: Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Editions, [2018] | With the support of National Arts Council Singapore--Title page verso.

Identifier(s): OCN 1030618378 | e-ISBN: 978 981 4828 00 0

Subject(s): LCSH: Tetralogy of Fallot--Patients--Biology. | Grief. | Courage.

Classification: DDC 362.196120092--dc23

Printed in Singapore

This is a story based on actual events recreated from the authors memories, interviews with the people involved and conversations with Daniel. Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals. Certain incidents and characters have been altered for storytelling purposes, and certain characters may be composites.

For Daniel

Natures first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leafs a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

Robert Frost, Nothing Gold Can Stay

Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold.

S. E. Hinton, The Outsiders

_______

It occured to Angela that they ought to turn the music down. It was approaching 11pm, and the steady stream of neighbours walking past the Pasir Ris void deck had dwindled into a trickle. The neighbours upstairs would probably not appreciate Jay-Z and Kanye West preaching about rolleys that dont tick tock. But it was Daniels party, and Angela chafed at the idea that anyone might find Daniels playlist too loud.

Tonight this party wasnt going anywhere. Or, as Ke$ha was now singing, tonight imma fight till we see the sunlight, tik tok on the clock but the party dont stop.

She had scoffed at Niggas in Paris too thats noise, not music, she had said, rolling her eyes at the bling-bling bravado the first time Daniel played it over their living room sound system.

He called it the shitz