The Asparagus Wars

A deeply moving memoir about the battles waged against terminal illness and a mother's struggle to comprehend the battlefield in its wake. While some family members wage war against her daughter's disease with natural therapies, and doctors fight on using the latest developments in medical science, she longs to take her daughter to Paris instead, the city that inspired the young woman's writing and art.

The Asparagus Wars asks questions about notions of victory at all costs. Shot through with fearless wit and resonant description, this story will break your heart but leave you richer for the experience.

Shortlisted for the 2020 International Beverly Prize for Literature

'A superb and courageous work suffused with honesty, vulnerability and poetic finesse. A book that compels us to endure the most challenging of both physical and emotional maladies with love, rather than resorting to waging war.'

Dr Leah Kaminsky, award-winning author of The Waiting Room and The Hollow Bones