Love Your Sister

Description

A searingly honest memoir of family and love, this is the unforgettable tale of two inspiring Australians - Connie and Samuel Johnson. Connie had a love/hate relationship with cancer. She hated cancer but cancer loved her. It sought her out at twelve, again at twenty-two and then, at thirty-three, as a mother of two young boys, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and told she would die. In the shadow of that terminal diagnosis, Connie came up with an insane dare for her brother, actor Samuel Johnson, to unicycle around the entire country in an effort to remind every young mum in the land to be breast aware. Who says no to a dying wish? When Samuel said the inescapable 'yes', Love Your Sister was born. Sam became the world's most determined unicyclist, covering almost 16,000 kilometres in 364 days. What started as a promise to his dying sister turned into a pledge to everyone suffering from cancer. After his turn as Molly Meldrum in the biopic Molly, Samuel promptly retired from acting to focus solely on raising $10 million towards cancer vanquishment. So far Love Your Sister has raised over $7 million ... Then, in September 2017, the woman who taught us all that every day is awesome took her last breath. But Connie always said 'It's not over when I die. It's over when mums stop dying from cancer'. So Sam, Em and the village aren't stopping. In this updated edition of the bestselling memoir, Sam and big sister Hilde share stories of Connie, the birth of The Stick and the Big Heart Project and remind us all yet again just how far people can go for the ones they love.

Samuel Johnson (Author) Samuel Johnson OAM is a much-loved Australian actor, best known for his work on THE SECRET LIFE OF US, CRACKERJACK, UNDERBELLY: A TALE OF TWO CITIES, RUSH and as the star of the hit biopic MOLLY. In recent times he is more proud of his work as a breast cancer advocate and determined unicyclist. He won a Gold Logie in 2017 for his work on MOLLY and was named the 2018 Victorian of the Year for his charity work to vanquish cancer. So far the charity he set up with his sister Connie, Love Your Sister, has raised over $15M. Samuel is a bestselling author, with his and Connie's book LOVE YOUR SISTER and his endearing DEAR SANTA both hitting the bestseller lists and both shortlisted for an ABIA award. His winning stint on DANCING WITH THE STARS reminded all of Australia how much we love Samuel Johnson. Samuel continues to dedicate most of his time to the charity and doing what he can to raise funds for cancer research. The DEAR series is part of that fundraising. Connie Johnson (Author) Connie Johnson was a wife and mother of two beautiful young boys who worked in the disability sector for ten years until diagnosed with cancer. With her brother, Samuel, she founded the charity LOVE YOUR SISTER. The proud recipient of a Member of the Order of Australia, she passed away in September 2017.

There are many joyous moments as brother and sister reflect, often wryly and honestly, on the power of their bond and the full catastrophe that is family life. - SYDNEY MORNING HERALD a tribute to familial support. The Johnsons' memoir is bracing and affecting. - SUNDAY AGE