Michelle Diener 
Lone Twin 

‘It’s hard to cry with sadness while you’re laughing with love’ This is the story of a much-loved young woman, who died much too early, and the way that she lived her life in the fullest way she knew, right until the very end. This is the story of my sister Nicole’s journey with breast cancer, from her diagnosis to her death. But the story goes beyond that, in the same way that Nicole took everything beyond the ordinary. It’s also a story of how she managed to live her life, really live it, in the most expansive definition of the word, the whole way through, right up until her last heartbeat. A woman who turned the intrusion of cancer into her life into something that she used to expand her, that made her bigger in so many ways. It’s the story of a woman who looked for the lesson and the gift in every moment, and not only treasured it, but used it to create more. It’s the story of what it’s like to be the sister of a woman who carried this off. It’s the story of how you get through it as an outsider, how you help, how you hinder, and how you come out the other side. Living life with a sister with cancer was a challenging but enriching experience – it changed the way I live my life. I hope reading our story gives you something too.