New cover for Prostate Cancer Strikes

The evolution of my book cover

I want to share with you the evolution of my book cover. It started way back when I first decided to write about my prostate cancer diagnosis. One night in the early morning hours, I awoke from a dream with an image of lightning bolts, a silhouette of a man, and the title “Prostate Cancer Strikes: Into Darkness and Beyond.”

Being a Star Trek fan, I wasn’t surprised to dream about a scary image coming from space and referencing two of their hit movies, “Star Trek Into Darkness” and “Star Trek Beyond.” And the image and title seemed to be perfect. After all, at first diagnosis, my original thought was that I fell into darkness with the shock of the diagnosis and the fear of the unknown. Then later, after recovering from the shock and learning more about my diagnosis, I went through the darkness and beyond it. However, I decided the title sounded too much like a movie. And I also feared that the word “Darkness” might imply the book is a sad, dark story. Even though I didn’t publish using this title, it will always have a special place in my heart since it came to me in a dream.

After giving it some thought and based on advanced reader feedback, I realized that my book could be used as a guide to help navigate a prostate cancer diagnosis. Not only for the newly diagnosed but also for their loved ones too. After closely looking at the image of the lightning bolts, I thought about a storm. And that’s when it occurred to me to use the title, “.” It seemed appropriate, as when prostate cancer strikes, you may need help to navigate the storm. With that change, I moved forward and published the book. However, afterwards, I decided to change the colour of the cover from green to blue. There was no particular reason other than I thought blue was a softer colour.

And then I thought I was done with the book cover and title. But one morning, I was pleasantly surprised to receive an email from Prostate Cancer Foundation Canada. They had read my book and wanted to include it in their Reef Knot Kit. This kit contains information about prostate cancer that the foundation distributes free to doctors and newly diagnosed patients all across Canada. Needless to say, I was incredibly honoured and humbled knowing that thousands of men and their loved ones would be reading my book at no charge. With that news, I updated the cover to include the foundation’s logo. And while I was at it, I decided to include a heartwarming testimonial from UroToday.com that reads, “A great book recommendation for your patients.”

With all the distributions across Canada, I’m thrilled to announce that my book is now in its third printing! And once again, I decided to change the cover! This time, my thoughts were on the image of the lightning bolts and the silhouette of a man. Although this image came to me in a dream, I thought it might be too scary. And once again, I didn’t want the cover to imply the book is a sad, dark story. Therefore, I decided to update the cover with a sailboat caught in a storm. I’m hoping the image captures danger, fear, and courage and, at the same time, captures hope for overcoming the many challenges ahead when faced with a cancer diagnosis. I am very proud of the latest version and offer my sincerest heartfelt thank you for reading and sharing it with others. It’s profoundly moving to know that my words may benefit others.

Watch the video

Thank you so much for being part of my experience and spreading the word about prostate cancer awareness. To celebrate my new cover, I created a YouTube video named Book Cover Reveal.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to share my prostate cancer diagnosis and lessons learned. You can read all my book launch posts under Book Launch.

If you’ve read my prostate cancer memoir, please consider writing a review on , Goodreads, and other online sites. Your review is deeply appreciated, helps with visibility, and lets others know if this book is right for them. If you already wrote a review, I’m sincerely grateful for your time.