Sue Matthews - Paint Your Hair Blue: A Celebration of Life with Hope for Tomorrow in the Face of Pediatric Cancer

A heartbreaking yet heartwarming story of how Taylor and her family navigated pediatric cancer with love, laughter, and tears. Beautifully written, it feels as if youre going through the journey with Taylor and her family. Paint Your Hair Blue will make you hug your children tighter and fight harder to find a cure for pediatric cancer.

Angie Harmon, mother, actress, director, UNICEF Ambassador

Paint Your Hair Blue is a heartwarming memoir that uncovers the battles a strong and beautiful young girl fought through as a pediatric cancer patient. As a parent, I cannot imagine the pain that Taylors parents endured and greatly admire their courage to share this incredible story of love and perseverance-a poignant reminder to both live life and love others to our greatest capacity.

Hannah Storm ESPN award-winning journalist

If youve ever loved someone with all your strength, mind, heart, and soul, this bookthis love storywill appeal to you. The author tells a deeply personal story about her young daughters determination to stay alive despite the onslaught of pediatric cancer. Your heart will break and soar, sometimes simultaneously, as you learn about Taylors fierce courage and unremitting resolve to not permit cancer to scar her spirit along with her body. As much as any drug or medical protocol, readers quickly realize that Taylors best medicine, and the one that worked better than any other, was the lavish and unconditional love of her father, mother, and sisters.

Paint Your Hair Blue is a mothers longing to give enduring eloquence to a daughters voice, to not let it go silent. Readers will come away from the book with a vivid understanding of how truly short and precious life is and a greater willingness to add more color as we go along.

Reverend Anthony Penna, Boston College

Taylors was a life worth living, and this is a book well worth reading. Paint Your Hair Blue is an inspiring memoir about a laughing, fun-loving teen who lived life on her own terms despite having cancer. This book will resonate with anyone going through a difficult diagnosis. Filled with anecdotes that will help you survive the medical world, it is a love story that will have you shaking your head about the state of pediatric oncology as well as the grace and determination of one little warrior.

Nancy Taddiken, retired superintendent for Edgemont Schools, Taylors friend and hero

A Celebration of Life with Hope for Tomorrow in the Face of PEDIATRIC CANCER

A MEMOIR

Sue Matthews

with her sister Andrea Cohane

NEW YORK

LONDONNASHVILLEMELBOURNEVANCOUVER

Paint Your Hair Blue

A Celebration of Life with Hope for Tomorrow in the Face of Pediatric Cancer

2018 Sue Matthews with her sister Andrea Cohane

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in New York, New York, by Morgan James Publishing. Morgan James is a trademark of Morgan James, LLC. www.MorganJamesPublishing.com

The Morgan James Speakers Group can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event visit The Morgan James Speakers Group at www.TheMorganJamesSpeakersGroup.com.

Authors have received permission to use any real names that appear in this book. All others are pseudonyms to protect privacy.

ISBN 9781683507277 paperback

ISBN 9781683507284 eBook

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017912849

Cover Design by:

Rachel Lopez

www.r2cdesign.com

Interior Design by:

Chris Treccani

www.3dogcreative.net

In an effort to support local communities, raise awareness and funds, Morgan James Publishing donates a percentage of all book sales for the life of each book to Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg.

Get involved today! Visit
www.MorganJamesBuilds.com

A portion of the authors proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the Taylor Matthews Foundation

In Loving Memory of Taylor

To my family, with all my love

Taylor

Thank you for showing me the true meaning of love and life
Our eternal love has no boundaries

Bob

Thank you for unconditionally loving me and breathing life into me

You are my everything

Ryan and Corey

Your love fills my heart with joy and my days with sunshine
I love you forever and always

Andrea

You encouraged me, guided me, and wrote from your heart
Your love for Taylor and us is reflected in your words

You will find as you look back on your life, that the moments you really lived are the moments after you have done things in the spirit of love.

Henry Drummond

O ur daughter, Taylor, lost her battle with cancer when she was sixteen years old. Was Taylors cancer journey successful? I dare say YES! How could I, as a mother, possibly say this when she ultimately lost her battle? Its not just because she beat tremendous odds and lived almost five years after her initial diagnosis. And its not just because she made even the most jaded oncologists believe she would make it.

Taylors cancer journey was successful because she lived every single day she had on this earth to the fullest. She lived in the moment. When she was feeling well, she was living well: laughing, playing, and experiencing life . I didnt teach her to do this; she taught me. What she imparted to me can apply to everyone, no matter what the prognosis or situation. Once we discovered that the most important part of Taylors cancer journey, the day-to-day experience of it, was in our control , it empowered us in a way that made all the difference.

Theres no way for anyone to completely avoid the fear and concomitant pain that comes along with a cancer diagnosis, but Taylors fearless approach and insistence on living life on her own terms allowed her to live with meaning and purpose. Had Taylor abandoned her zest for life and allowed herself to become a victim, she would have cheated herself from some of her lifes greatest moments and adventures, including traveling, falling in love, and just being a kid. She always found a reason to be happy, a reason to laugh, a reason to love, and a reason to live. She truly believed that all you need in life is love. Whenever I face even the slightest hardship today, I can hear her saying, Come on; get with the program. Life sucks; wear a helmet! And I cant help but smile.

Whether you are facing a life-threatening disease, have a loved one who is, or are just going through the normal ups and downs of life, I hope Taylors story will give you hope, inspiration, and courage.