Christmas lights may never be touted as a cure for cancer, but for Kat Heckenbach, their sparkle helped give her encouragement during her battle with the disease.
"Lights of Hope," Heckenbach's tale about her yuletide inspiration during her cancer treatments, has been included in the new "Chicken Soup for the Soul: Christmas Magic: 101 Holiday Tales of Inspiration, Love, and Wonder."
Heckenbach, a local Christian fantasy writer who was diagnosed with cancer in October 2004, said "Lights of Hope'" is a story "about the Christmas during my cancer treatment and how I found hope in the simple act of looking at Christmas lights."
Her husband Jeff's love and ingenuity enabled her to participate in the family's traditional, nightly treks through the neighborhood.
"It has turned into the most special Christmas memory I have, despite the hard time I was going through," said the now five-year cancer survivor. "Or maybe because of it."
The couple have been married 16 years and have two children, Nick, 10, and Anna, 7.
It feels "pretty cool" to be included in a Chicken Soup book, the 40-year-old Heckenbach said. "I've got a lot of stories out there online and in anthologies, but this is the first anthology that 'everyone' recognizes."
The holiday anthology will be released Oct. 12 and may be preordered at www.amazon.com or www.barnesandnoble.com.
Since 1993, books in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series have sold more than 112 million copies, with titles translated into more than 40 languages, the publisher's website states.
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