Jane Yolen has spent her life giving enjoyment to millions of readers with her award-winning books and poems. But when her husband was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor in his skull, she began to write to find solace. For the forty-three days that David underwent radiation treatment, Jane spent each night pouring her emotions into a sonnet. It was the only part of the day over which she felt she had any control. When Jane read some of those poems on NPR's All Things Considered, there was an immediate outpouring of support and a clamoring for her work from cancer patients, those who treat and care for them, and those listeners simply moved by her words. The Radiation Sonnets is for them.

The poems reflect not only what happened on a particular day - the naps and nausea, visits from family and friends, Jane's struggle to get food into her weakened husband-but also tell a larger story: of her deep love for her husband, her ambivalence about medical technology, her joy in small victories, her acknowledgment of life's utter precariousness, her humor in the face of fear, and her refusal to give up hope.

For caregivers and survivors alike, for anyone whose life has been touched by illness, The Radiation Sonnets is a triumphant celebration of the human spirit.

Jane Yolen has spent her life giving enjoyment to millions of readers with her award-winning books and poems. But when her husband was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor, Yolen's writing became heremotional lifeline. Every evening, during the forty-three days that her husband, David, underwent radiation therapy, Yolen would retreat to her attic and pour out the day's eventsand#8212;as well as her thoughts, fears, and loveand#8212;into sonnets, fourteen lines of rhymed verse.

The result is a remarkable sequence of uncommonly intimate, unexpectedly humorous, and deeply healing poems that chronicle her family's journey through trauma and toward recovery. When Yolen read some of these sonnets on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, there was an immediate ourpouring of support from listenersand#8212;among them cancer patients and their families, doctors, nurses, and therapists.

The poems speak of Yolen's ambivalence about medical technology, heranger at the gods, her joy in small victories, her acknowledgment of life's utter precariousness, and her refusal to give up hope. Her words are a tribute to a long and loving marriage as well as to the selflessness of the caretaker.

For caregiver and survivors alike, The Radiation Sonnetsis a triumphant celebration of strength and spirit.