Eve Monroe, a successful writer, wakes up one day in hospital with no recollection of how she got there and what happened.

This somewhat semi-autobiographical novella about a bestselling novelist with five children getting a devastating diagnosis of incurable brain cancer, a glioblastoma stage IV, is Sophie Kinsella's own story. She needed brain surgery, chemo and radiation therapy and to relearn to walk, talk and write, suffering fatigue and memory loss.

"Write the book you would like to read yourself. Write the truth about life, whatever genre you're in. Write what you know and do it convincingly."

Thankfully, she took her own advice. I've been a life-long fan of Sophie Kinsella's books and even here her trademark British humour always shines through.

This novella of little more than 100 pages has nevertheless a devastating impact. The writing style is brief anecdotes and vignettes, showing us all the difference aspects of what living with an incurable disease is like, the doctor visits and the carers, talks about wills and bucket lists and how your family and friends react. Thankfully her husband is always by her side. It chronicles the loss of control over her life ("Every scan's a plot twist") but also the importance of family.

Emotional, brave and life-affirming, this book is a celebration of love and life. Eve ruminates how easy it would have been to write herself a happy ending, maybe with a miracle drug and total recovery but nevertheless the book ends on an optimistic note - she has her family and hope.

I wish this book was longer but I can imagine that it was exhausting to write, with the author drawing on an inner strength and using the writing as therapy. I wish Sophie Kinsella all the best for the future and that she may have beaten this for good.

"Cancer is a buzzkill, what with the pills and the chemo and the dying. But luckily, there's always a cup of tea."