Acceptance of death and cancer did not mean I intended to give up, just the opposite. I was prepared to fight cancer not out of fear of dying, but out of joy of living.

— Edie Littlefield Sundby

Gratitude pours forth continually, as if the unexpected had just happened—the gratitude of a convalescent—for convalescence was unexpected…. The rejoicing of strength that is returning, of a reawakened faith in a tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, of a sudden sense and anticipation of a future, of impending adventures, of seas that are open again.

— Friedrich Nietzsche

I am fighting to stay alive not because I fear death, but because I love life.

— Edie Littlefield Sundby

I don't need to write light, to see light. You are only disabled, if you disable yourself. I may have an illness, but I am not the illness Truth is, despite what they may say, I'll get out of this world alive. I am the Gospel of Myself.

— Alexej Savreux

I have this one little life to live with, it's not the plan I had in mind, but I can accept it's the calling of my soul. The irony in gaining freedom through the heartbreak of stillness.

— Nikki Rowe

Illness especially, may be a blessed forerunner of the individual’s conversion. Not only does it prevent him from realizing his desires; it even reduces his capacity for sin, his opportunities for vice. In that enforced detachment from evil, which is a Mercy of God, he has time to search himself, to appraise his life, to interpret it in terms of larger reality. He considers God, and, at that moment, there is a sense of duality, a confronting of personality with Divinity, a comparison of the facts of his life with the ideal from which he fell. The soul is forced to look inside itself, to inquire whether there is more peace in this suffering than in sinning. Once a sick man, in his passivity, begins to ask, “What is the purpose of my life? Why am I here?” the crisis has already begun. Conversion becomes possible the very moment a man ceases to blame God or life and begins to blame himself; by doing so, he becomes able to distinguish between his sinful barnacles and the ship of his soul. A crack has appeared in the armor of his egotism; now the sunlight of God’s grace can pour in. But until that happens, catastrophes can teach us nothing but despair.

— Fulton J. Sheen

I love to walk. Walking is a spiritual journey and a reflection of living. Each of us must determine which path to take and how far to walk; we must find our own way, what is right for one may not be for another. There is no single right way to deal with late stage cancer, to live life or approach death, or to walk an old mission trail.

— Edie Littlefield Sundby

I started to walk the day I was told I was dying of cancer. I believe walking has kept me alive. Furthermore, I live with a constant, pressing awareness of death. Once I start to walk, I am not afraid anymore; all is well.

— Edie Littlefield Sundby

I thank God every day for this life, and I want there to be more, though that’s not known. What is known is that I’m alive today, this minute. And that’s pretty much what we all have – this day, this moment.

— Edie Littlefield Sundby

I walk to rid myself of the terror of cancer, and to overcome the fear of it coming back. The fear may never completely fade, but actively engaging life – whatever that may involve – reminds me of the joy each day can bring.

— Edie Littlefield Sundby