Beloved worldwide for his moving YouTube declaration of love to his wife and his brave battle against terminal cancer, an Australian father of two inspires us all to treasure every day

Friday, April 20, 2012

Beloved worldwide for his moving YouTube declaration of love to his wife and his brave battle against terminal cancer, an Australian father of two inspires us all to treasure every day

Days Like These

by Kristian Anderson with Rachel Anderson

There are love stories … and then there’s the story of Kristian and Rachel Anderson.

When Kristian wanted to show his wife, Rachel, how much he loved her, he captured another million hearts worldwide with the now-famous YouTube birthday video he made. Kristian died in his sleep on 2 January 2012, aged 36. In his brief life, he touched countless others’ lives. Like Oprah, who paid a moving tribute to Kristian and Rachel at her Sydney Opera House show, and Hugh Jackman, who appeared on the birthday video, many of us didn’t know Kristian personally but we were so inspired by him that we felt like we did.

‘Kristian was an inspiration to us all, the way he handled cancer with fierce grace.

I was so moved after meeting him and seeing how much he appreciated his family, and every precious moment. He taught us how to LIVE with cancer.

The Light he left on earth will not be dimmed by his passing.’

— OPRAH WINFREY

Told in his own words, Days Like These will inspire others to know that even in the darkest moments, the light can shine through. Drawn from Kristian’s blog about his journey (http://howthelightgetsin.net), with added insights from his beloved Rachel, this is the legacy he dreamed of leaving behind for her and their sons, Cody, 5, and Jakob, 3.

And I will confess that tears streamed down my face as I read this, as they did the other night when Rachel was on Close Up with Mark Sainsbury. A truly wonderful, moving, heart-breaking story.

Louise Vallant, Senior Publicist, HarperCollins Publishers, who looked after Rachel on her promotional tour said to me that "she was just the most lovely woman. I really enjoyed spending time with her. Though her story is so, so sad, I came away feeling uplifted. She talked a lot about how amazing Oprah was and her incredible aura, but I would say the same is true of her" !

Having read her story and listened to her on radio and tv (see links below) I can quite believe that. She is a star.

IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH

Rachel and I can’t look at each other without bursting into tears. Trying to keep it together in front of the boys is difficult. We don’t want them to detect any upset because there’s no way we can make them understand the gravity of what’s happening. We went to sleep crying and woke up the same way. I felt Rachel put her arms around me during the night, then I felt her body shaking from the tears.

It’s just not real. This is not our life.

— Kristian Anderson, an excerpt from Days Like These