What happens when the person you planned to grow old with suddenly faces death at a young age?
For Chrissy and Matt Stewart, the question becomes terrifyingly real when Chrissy is diagnosed with a rare, late-stage cancer at 42 years old. Suddenly, their life is dominated by scans, chemo, hospital rooms, and the constant uncertainty of what comes next.
Matt becomes her caregiver and prepares for a future without his wife.
But then the unimaginable happens.
Matt is also diagnosed with Stage IV cancer.
The roles are reversed. The caregiver becomes the patient and the patient becomes the caregiver. While battling their cancers, they raise teenagers and confront the possibility they might not live to see a future they took for granted.
Threaded through their story is the voice of their teenage daughter, Maddy, who confronts a reality no child should ever have to consider: she could soon lose one parent…or both of them.
Told in alternating voices, the Stewarts share the experiences that shaped them and the diagnoses that changed their lives forever. All the Things is an intimate, moving, darkly funny, and deeply human memoir about caring for your spouse while facing adversity, parenting kids through a devastating diagnosis, and finding light when darkness surrounds you.
This isn’t a story about dying.
It’s a story about learning how to truly live by loving deeply, laughing when you probably shouldn’t, squeezing joy out of every day and making a positive difference in other people’s lives – doing all the things that matter while you still can.
For Chrissy and Matt Stewart, the question becomes terrifyingly real when Chrissy is diagnosed with a rare, late-stage cancer at 42 years old. Suddenly, their life is dominated by scans, chemo, hospital rooms, and the constant uncertainty of what comes next.
Matt becomes her caregiver and prepares for a future without his wife.
But then the unimaginable happens.
Matt is also diagnosed with Stage IV cancer.
The roles are reversed. The caregiver becomes the patient and the patient becomes the caregiver. While battling their cancers, they raise teenagers and confront the possibility they might not live to see a future they took for granted.
Threaded through their story is the voice of their teenage daughter, Maddy, who confronts a reality no child should ever have to consider: she could soon lose one parent…or both of them.
Told in alternating voices, the Stewarts share the experiences that shaped them and the diagnoses that changed their lives forever. All the Things is an intimate, moving, darkly funny, and deeply human memoir about caring for your spouse while facing adversity, parenting kids through a devastating diagnosis, and finding light when darkness surrounds you.
This isn’t a story about dying.
It’s a story about learning how to truly live by loving deeply, laughing when you probably shouldn’t, squeezing joy out of every day and making a positive difference in other people’s lives – doing all the things that matter while you still can.
