Morecambe woman's debut novel is tribute to brother she lost to cancer

There was a deeper message: Come home. Now.

Kay, who today lives in Morecambe, was right to heed his hidden call in summer 2017. Syd’s cancer had reared its ugly head once again and he needed his sister.

She didn’t hesitate, uprooting her family from the new life they’d made in Australia almost 10 years prior. They simply flew straight back home to the Yorkshire Dales.

This was the start of a five-year rollercoaster encompassing deep emotional turmoil, back-to-back new business ventures battling a pandemic, unrelenting economic crises and – finally – a period of ‘simple clarity’ when Kay found her true passion – as an author and a voice to help others.

Her final difficult – and often hugely uplifting – days spent with Syd are charted in unflinching detail in Losing You, Finding Me – the book that marks Kay’s debut as an author.

And it also sets out how she not only changed her home and lifestyle, but how she used the precious time she spent with Syd before he succumbed to neuroendocrine cancer, an extremely rare disease which had also claimed the life of Apple founder Steve Jobs.

With her background in the health sector, Kay plunged headlong into a search for treatments and guidance, eventually leading her to a world of unexpected spiritual and emotional change in this incredibly moving, at times joyous, story.

While heartbroken after Syd’s death, Kay was determined to find a path through grief. She sought purpose and meaning in a role as a volunteer at a local bereavement centre, before abandoning her stellar career to work in the hospice sector and begin training as a fully qualified grief counsellor.

The story of those tumultuous days, leading to the profound transformation Kay has undergone, are set out in this heartfelt, deeply personal memoir. It’s an incredibly brave and beautifully written account of an unbreakable bond between brother and sister.

Kay draws on the strength she found through diving ever deeper into the ties that bind families, regardless of upset or petty squabbles. This searingly honest account of love and loss spells out her heartfelt hope for those in need of strength in the darkest times, and also unlocks a fresh chapter in the life of a truly inspiring woman.

*Losing You Finding Me By Kay Backhouse £14.99. For more information go to www.kaybackhouse.com