Newton-John - Dont Stop Believin

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Gallery Books

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New York, NY 10020

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Text copyright 2018 by Olivia Newton-John

Originally published in 2018 in Australia by Viking Australia

This edition published by arrangement with Penguin Random House Australia Pty. Ltd.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Gallery Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

First Gallery Books hardcover edition January 2019

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Cover design by Alex Ross Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd

Based on an original concept by Michael Caprio

Front cover photograph by Denise Truscello

Back cover photograph by Kathryn Burke

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN 978-1-9821-2224-9

ISBN 978-1-9821-2226-3 (ebook)

This book is dedicated to my darling daughter, Chloe, so that you may know more about my life before you were in it! You are my world, and I love you bigger than the universe.

I am a private person living a very public life.

I therefore choose to only tell stories about my own life that I hope are entertaining or interestingand that I still remember!

I am grateful for all the people on my lifes journey, whether I have known you for a momenta reason, a season, or a lifetime.

Know that youre in my heart.

Please forgive me if you dont get a mention, for I had only so many pages!

Olivias dream was to have a wellness and research center that treats the person, not just the disease. The Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre (ONJ Centre) was the first of its kind in Australia to bring together world-class clinical treatment, breakthrough research and education, and complementary wellness therapies.

Today the ONJ Centre continues to provide leadership in the benefits of complementary support and therapies by recognizing cancer diagnosis and treatment is a physically and emotionally demanding time. The wellness center is a beautifully restored building that provides space for people and their caregivers to be away from the clinical setting and relax in a tranquil environment.

The Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute laboratories sit alongside patient treatment facilities so our researchers and clinicians can work together. The ONJ Centre is currently involved in nearly three hundred clinical trials, and our passionate researchers are working to use significant scientific discoveries from the laboratory to improve clinical practice. This means ONJ Centre patients have more timely access to potential new treatments and targeted therapies.

The ONJ Centre is a partnership where patients and their families, scientists, doctors, nurses, and therapists collaborate to provide the best possible person-centered treatment to make constant improvements to cancer care.

Cancer research and wellness therapies provided rely solely on donations. You can support Olivia and people going through cancer treatment by making a donation at onjcentre.org.

Every year thousands of people who are touched by cancer come to the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre. They face the challenge of a lifetime with hope because they receive the best care guided by the latest research delivered with passion, love, kindness, and understanding. Patients, their loved ones, researchers, and staff are all hugely grateful for what Olivia has helped build and sustain: a truly unique cancer center founded on her vision, with boundless enthusiasm and love.

Professor Jonathan Cebon, Medical Director, Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre

Dont stop believin, youll get by

Bad days will hurry by.

May 30, 2017

My favorite time of day is magic hour, when the sun takes a dive behind the craggy mountain ranges and the sky is painted a stunning purple-pink. Im sitting during magic hour right now on a weathered stone bench, allowing the day to wash over me, surrounding myself with love and light.

I smell the early-summer roses and smile as our energetic German shepherd, Raven, brings me her ball for yet another toss. My wonderful husband, John, should be pulling up in the driveway any moment. Its a beautiful life and remains so, even though I told the world a few hours ago that my cancer has returned.

Yesterday I went in to be measured. When you have photon radiation therapy, you must be in exactly the same position every single time, so they give you small dot tattoos to make sure your body is lined up properly in the machine.

I guess this will be the fun part, I told the technician as he poked a small, needlelike pen through flesh to mark my hips.

When I saw that what hed created was no more than tiny circles, I asked, Cant you give me something a little more interesting?

John and I have matching tattoos on our left anklesa spiral pattern we designed when we were in Australia on our fifth anniversary.

Hey, I thought I was only going to get a tattoo once in my life! I joked. Not fair to John now that Ill have an extra one.

We had a good laugh.

Being positive isnt always easy, but we always have that choice.

*

This is my third journey with cancer, which might come as a surprise. The previous one was five years ago and I kept it private, and luckily it remained so, which isnt always easy when you live your life in public.

In May 2013, John and I were rear-ended in our Prius on Highway 101 in heavy Los Angeles traffic. We were on the way to my sister Ronas house. My niece Tottie and her daughter, Layla, had been visiting us and they were in the back seat. Raven, our new puppy, was in a crate in the back. That poor baby was surrounded by shattered glass, we were hit that hard. For months afterward, Raven was nervous every time I even looked at the car.