A book to celebrate women battling breast cancer and portray the warriors within.

The idea for "I Am Warrior" was born in a surgeon's waiting room, shortly after my diagnosis with breast cancer in June 2013. The weeks that preceded had been filled with confusion and fear. I felt as though I'd lost control of everything. As I sat in the waiting room, my older sister handed me a book from the waiting room coffee table.

"Here, let's flip through this, it looks interesting"

The book showed women who had undergone mastectomies. Though well-intentioned, this book was horrifying. It wasn't the subject matter, but how the women were presented. They looked defeated; lighting and post-production effects had been added to make them look stark and unflattering. A paralyzing wave of despair washed over me, and I felt like I was drowning. My sister slammed the book shut and shoved it under the couch... she couldn't stand the thought of someone else in our situation looking at it. A few week later, I sat in a chemo suite, about to undergo my third round of chemotherapy, I turned to my sister and told her that "I need to make the book." 

My sister thought I was delirious. "What book? What are you talking about?"

"I need to make the book that would have comforted us that day" I replied.

“I Am Warrior” was born from my experience in the waiting room. The purpose of this project is to comfort and empower women newly diagnosed and about to face this battle. I want to celebrate the spirit of the warrior within each and every one of us with this disease.