Book excerpt: 10 A Story of Love, Life, and Loss is the true story of a couple in midlife who found each other and then, after receiving a cancer diagnosis, learned to face losing each other. Over the course of ten years, Tom and Barb developed from long-time friends to lovers to committed spouses. In their tenth year, when Tom was given a terminal diagnosis of small cell lung cancer, he faced it head-on, saying, I wasnt given a death sentence. I was given a life sentence. The couples love for life and for each other carried them through a seven-month cancer journey with courage, perseverance, persistence, and gratitude. This raw, emotional story is based on the authors journals. Its honesty and intimacy may inspire and uplift you as you trace their journey. Their story is a reminder to all of us to live life with gratitude and zest, fulfilling all our hearts desires in the time we are given.