WHEN Simon Boas learnt he had terminal throat cancer aged just 46, he could have retreated into solitary sadness. Instead, he began writing a regular newsletter, titled A Beginner's Guide to Dying. After first appearing in his local paper, it quickly went global, inspiring millions worldwide.
A poetic salute to the beauty of life, filled with stoic wisdom and wit, lines like, "The prognosis is not quite, 'Don't buy any green bananas' but it's close to 'Don't start any long books"" made people laugh and cry.
Having been diagnosed in February, the charity director and former UN aid worker recently revealed how tumours in his throat and neck had spread to his lungs despite months of chemotherapy and radiation.
Despite this, he wanted to focus on the many positives.
Accepting
"At 46, I have lived far longer than most of the humans in the 300,000-year history of our species. So have you, probably," he wrote. "And if the book of my life is shorter than many modern people's, it doesn't make it any less of a good read. Length and quality are not correlated in lives any more than they are in novels or films.
"So carpe that diem and keep it carped. And enjoy the tiny ways you can make other people a little happier. That's actually the secret of being happy oneself..."
This week it emerged Boas had moved into hospice care.
Bu hikaye Daily Express dergisinin July 06, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Daily Express dergisinin July 06, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Howe defends spent promises
'RULE CHANGES HURT TOON'
Business as usual for Tigers despite missing Cheika
MICHAEL CHEIKA'S right-hand man at Leicester shrugged off the head coach's absence from today's clash at Newcastle after his touchline ban.
Ex-policewoman charged after paddleboard tragedy
A FORMER policewoman has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter following the deaths of four people in a paddleboarding incident.
Country star lashes out at 'hush money' rape claims
COUNTRY singer Garth Brooks has insisted that rape claims made against him by a stylist are a \"hush money\" shakedown.
Michel Roux: 'Potato Gate exit from BBC still hurts
MICHEL Roux Junior is still simmering at the BBC 10 years after he says he was forced out of MasterChef over a \"Potato Gate\" row.
Airstrikes threaten evacuations
IRAN'S CALL TO ARMS AS BRITISH AND U.S. HIT HOUTHI TARGETS
MONTELL: I'VE BEATEN THE BEST...BUT I'VE MET MY MATCH DANCING IN HEELS
SHE is formidable as Fire on TV's Gladiators, but Montell Douglas has finally met her match on Strictly-high heels.
PM's £22bn bid to capture carbon
SIR Keir Starmer rubbed shoulders with factory workers as he pledged nearly £22billion to capture and store carbon emissions from energy, industry and hydrogen production.
APOLOGY AFTER PROBE FINDS WOMEN SUBMARINERS SUFFERED MISOGYNY AND BULLYING
NAVAL personnel have been sacked after a probe uncovered \"intolerable\" misogyny and bullying on board nuclear-armed submarines.
Boris: Cameron wrong to quit after EU vote
BORIS Johnson has criticised David Cameron for quitting as PM after Britain voted to leave the European Union.