My Body of Water

My name is Caroline and I am a writer, photographger, and care worker using storytelling to build bridges between isolation and community. My work is grounded in the belief that art and story can travel to otherwise unreachable places.

I am writing a memoir about being diagnosed with incurable brain cancer shortly after I turned 27. At the time, I was given 3-5 more years to live. My memoir spans the last 10 years of my life, beginning in 2016 when I first became sick, through the multi-year fight to be believed, my eventual diagnosis and treatment in 2019, closing with the years that have followed in which my cancer remains temporarily, miracously stable. My manuscript touches on themes of resilence through advocacy and persistence and the necessity of becoming a student of sickness instead of a victim in order to survive.

The heart of the memoir is reflected in the question of how to live within this thin space of perpetual uncertainity, acutely aware of my own mortality and the scarcity of the time I have left, and still remain intentionally tethered to life. My book will explore and confront that challenge head on, bringing readers with me as I try to build a home in this fragile, liminal space between the world I live in now and the reality of my cancer's return, far before I am ready to let go.

Today, in the fall of 2026, I am years past the prediction of my orignal prognosis. I am aware I am reaching the far end of the bell curve and, while my scans remain stable, I am experiencing increasing difficulties related to the brain damage caused by radiation, surgery, and chemo, as well as other medical conerns. Working full time outside of the home has become extremely challenging, and I am recognizing I need to make a change in my day to day life in order to achieve my dreams while I have time.

I have created this campaign to ask for support over the next six months with the hope of reducing financial stress and the need to sustain multiple hours of work each week while I finish my manuscript, book proposal, and prepare for publication. I am aware that many of us are navigating difficult times and that protected time to create art is a rare and profound gift that few get to experience. I am so grateful for you, whoever you are, for even taking the time to read my story and consider supporting me.

My biggest hope for my life is to leave behind a legacy of fostering connection and care for as many people as possible. My hope is that long after I am gone, my art is able to keep people company in times they would otherwise be alone. Thank you for helping make that happen. My gratitude is endless.