The Buoy Projects: A Story of Breast Cancer, Bucket-Lists, Life Lessons, Facebook and Love

by Lorna Brunelle

Wanda Stairs Howard was many things to many people, but first and foremost, she was a mother, grandmother, and wife. Her daughter Lorna’s book is an account of how Wanda took what was left of her life and squeezed it until the pips squeaked, how she and her tireless Team Wanda celebrated her life whilst she was still living it, and how eventually they set her free for the ultimate journey.

This book was written because so many people responded so strongly to her story as it played out through the medium of Facebook, and many of those people asked Lorna to put her mother’s story into print so that she could inspire others who weren’t lucky enough to know her personally. By the end of the book, I hope that readers will feel like they knew Wanda and that many will take comfort and inspiration from her life and death.

259 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 30, 2016

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

20 to 30 years ago cancer was such a taboo that people were embarrassed to talk about it - and anybody who has had it will know that far too many people are still terrified to discuss this disease. Even rarer are people who are willing to read about and talk about the ultimate taboo - DEATH. I've read may books about cancer experience but very few focus on end of life issues in such a positive and heart-warming way as Lorna Brunelle's new book 'The Buoy Projects'.

It takes a very close personal relationship for anybody to tell the story of somebody that they love and Lorna's closeness to her mother, Wanda, enabled them both to be extremely open in the last months of Wanda's life. If you're feeling scared to read a book about death, reluctant to expose yourself to something 'upsetting' then please be reassured that this book will almost certainly leave you with a big smile on your face.

You don't have to know Lorna or Wanda, to have cancer or even to have a close friend or relative with cancer to enjoy this life-affirming look at making the most of what time you have before life's most unavoidable certainty - death. I was lucky enough to get a pre-publication copy of this book and commend it to you highly. This is an extraordinary story of a very ordinary woman who transformed the lives of everybody around her.

[Kristin Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a beautiful book. I've had the pleasure of knowing the author for about ten years, and knowing the subject, Miss Wanda, for a few short years until her passing. Miss Wanda was the epitome of a classy lady, a spitfire, and...well...a Hot Shit. This is Mrs. Brunelle's 2nd book and I've found a huge growth in her writing style. A beautiful book about a beautiful woman...and I'm honored to be a part of Team Wanda.

[Jane Lopes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book about - as advertised, breast cancer, bucket lists, life lessons, Facebook and love. It's a story about the last 10 months of the life of a remarkable woman, written by her daughter with love, poignancy and much humor. Beyond that it's a lesson in how to deal with death and loss. Keep a box of Kleenex close.

[Dawn Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you haven't yet purchased this book, don't wait! It will change how you view life, family and death! You will laugh, you will cry and you will live every day differently that you ever have before! Wanda died an incredible death, lived a beautiful life, and left a remarkable array of family and friends. I've read it, my best friend has read it, and we both can't wait to read it again! ‪#‎TEAMWANDA‬ ‪#‎DECKGIRLS‬ ‪#‎epic‬