The spoiler is that Platinum, the shiny precious metal we may associate with glamour and wealth, was an ingredient in one of the chemo compounds. In this context, it functioned as a poison, carrying out the bizarre miracle of chemotherapy where death and life meet. Tracing through the paradoxical tensions of treatment, healing from treatment, succumbing to medicine and claiming autonomy, Hannah Kate guides us through essential components of the journey. There are material resources that will support you—yet much of what is needed requires connecting with the fundamental elements of life. But even when directing us to these spiritual resources, she teaches us how to meet them practically. Light is an essential companion and numinous healer, an angel…so when you’re staying in the hospital, bring a lamp!

The Platinum is not just an image or metaphor, but it is no mere atomic anomaly either. In the highest way, the key to surviving chemotherapy is finding the light in the poison. Hannah Kate teaches us to do this. She shows us through her own story, through the sacred marriage of western and alternative medicine, and through specific literal materials, modalities, and exercises. Your journey is your own, but Hannah Kate has arrived as a friend—a helper who has gone there and back again. She brings humor and joyfully readable prose. But don’t be fooled: this work goes all the way down and cuts through the hardest packed soil. For only then, after succumbing to the lightless depths, might we emerge holding treasure.