Sadie Keller - Better Angels: You Can Change the World. You Are Not Alone.

PRAISE FOR BETTER ANGELS

Wow, this book is breathtaking! Sadies tale reminds us all that from tragedy rises humanity and unexpected heroes and heroines. David Estes , bestselling author of The Fatemarked Epic series

Heartrending and inspiring. Sadie is a modern day warrior in the battle against pediatric cancer, and her story will leave you hopeful for the future. Melanie Conklin , author of Counting Time

Nobody wants to think about child cancer, but we cant look away. Our children deserve better. This fierce, heartbreaking book had me cheering, crying, and ultimately shouting You got this girl! The strength of Sadie Keller, and the children like her, shines through on every page and will stay with you long after you close the book. Wendy Mills , award-winning author of Positively Beautiful

Better Angels is so inspiring and deeply personal, you can feel the honesty and emotion coming off the pages. Amanda Maxlyn , USA Today bestselling author

This is a book about hope. As a survivor who courageously endured childhood cancer treatment, Sadies insights and experience are particularly meaningful. Her work with Congress to help bring cures to children, not just in America but around the world, is compelling. David G. Poplack, M.D. , Professor of Pediatric Oncology, Baylor College of Medicine; Director, Global HOPE, Texas Childrens Hospital

Sadie Keller shares her inspirational story of confronting cancer with grace, courage, and humor. Her vibrant, compelling account reminds us all of the importance of our work in the lab and the clinic to do better for all of our patients. We are proud to join her in Making Cancer History. Jim Allison, Ph.D. , Winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Chair of Immunology at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

When Sadie Keller was diagnosed with cancer at age seven, she worked with her family and a member of Congress to bring hope and new treatments to children struggling with the disease. Her optimism and strength in the face of adversity are an inspiration. Michael Dell , Founder and CEO of Dell Technologies and benefactor of Dell Childrens Medical Center of Central Texas

Copyright 2020 Michael McCaul

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at info@gaviabooks.com.

Published by Gavia Books

Paperback ISBN 978-0-9978808-5-4

Hardcover ISBN 978-0-9978808-6-1

ebook ISBN 978-0-9978808-7-8

Library of Congress Control Number 2020902349

The events and conversations in this book have been set down to
the best of the authors ability, although some names and details
have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

More information on the Sadie Keller Foundation can be found at

SadieKellerFoundation.org

Cover art by Sadie Keller | Book/ebook design by Tessa Avila

First edition printing May 2020

for Lily

and all the other angels

Contents

by Michael McCaul
Grab My Hands and Look Up

by Michael McCaul
How to Change the World

FOREWORD by Michael McCaul

Grab My Hands and Look Up

I was sitting in my office, getting ready for a television interview, when the lobbyist walked in. She was eight years old and hardly stood taller than the edge of my desk. Wearing a pink dress and a band on her hairless head, she carried nothing more than her story.

But Ill tell you, its a heck of a story.

We had met before, when I saw her give a short speech in front of a cheering crowd, and I knew she was an eloquent voice for her cause. So I asked her to join me in the interview, about passing a law to bring more state-of-the-art care to children with cancer. She told a very short version of her storyscary and heartbreaking, triumphant and inspiring.

Every cancer kid, and every cancer kids family, has their own story to tell. I dont know anyone who tells it better than Sadie Keller.

That afternoon, I canceled the rest of my appointments and showed Sadie around the U.S. Capitol Building. When you meet Sadieand you will in the pages that followyou realize shes the kind of person you want to make the rest of the day for: smart and funny and brave and generous, completely honest, and yet a perfectly ordinary little girl.

Except.

She went through what she calls the Hard Timeone where she lost close friends to cancerand came out wanting nothing more than to help other children. Then she joined forces with organizations that carry the power of their own stories. At a time when you think nothing useful can get done in government, when the country seems completely divided, when you think that nothing but money drives whatever goes on in Washington, you just need to listen to Sadie.

The really good news: Its leading to laws being passed that spell hope for the children of America and may even save the lives of children around the world.

That afternoon, I led Sadie through the Capitol down to the Rotunda, the dome in the heart of the building.

Hey, I said. If you look up and spin around, youll get really dizzy. I held out my hands and she took them. We walked right into the physical heart of our democracy, looked up, and spun. People stood around and watched us. It felt like dancing.

It still does.

Michael McCaul

Better

Angels

Find the Angels

I cant speak. The words sit in my brain and wont come out.

It started earlier in the day, only not with my mouth. We picked up chicken tenders at Whataburger in the afternoon, and when I went to grab my food, my right arm just fell on the table. I lifted it up with my other hand to pick up my chicken tender, and it dropped again. Once I started eating, my arm started to feel weird. Mom called the doctor, who said to keep an eye on it. Then my arm felt better and I forgot about it.

That evening, Im at home with Grandma while Mom and Dad are at my brothers football game. We bake a cake, huge and round with two tiers, and wait for the others to come home.

Sadie, its getting late, Grandma says. Should we eat?

No, I want to wait. But the words dont come out right. Im having trouble saying it. My mouth wont move the way I wanted, and my tongue cant match up with the sounds. But Grandma doesnt notice.

I go into Moms bathroom and call her, panicking. Are you at Grants game?

Yeah.

Im really having trouble saying words.

Mom starts walking out of the game even while shes talking to me. She and Dad had driven there in separate cars. Hold on, she says. Im on my way.

I hang up and tell Grandma about my trouble saying words.

She pats the couch next to her. Sit. Lets do tongue twisters. She has me say, How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

Ow uch ood coo a wood.

She sells seashells by the seashore.

She shells I cant!! My face feels tingly. I cant think straight. Every word comes out crooked and with a lot of effort.