I am currently feeling really well but illness is on the prowl amongst so many of my friends and family.

The world seems full of cancer. People Who Knew Me, Afterglow, A Bug in the System, Eastenders…I can’t escape it. Some programmes almost wind me with their authenticity.

This post is about where to find comfort.

If you want to support someone going through a hard time there are worse things you could do than read The Rabbit Listened. This is actually a picture book about how to deal with something awful. Other animals do what they think is best: getting angry, upset or taking charge. Not the rabbit. He doesn’t fill the space, he is just there waiting to be told what’s needed.

Greg Wise writes about how losing control, being cared for not the carer, is what really sticks it to his sister. No amount of optimism or planning for a cancer-free life counts a fig when tumours take over. The shift from responding well to treatment to running out of options is swift and brutal.

Lionel Shriver documents in excruciating detail the decline of a person with terminal cancer, in part as an apology for not being there enough for a friend in this situation. Support dwindles over time, as people are frustrated by the protagonist refusing to engage in heart to hearts that make them feel better. Full of biting dark humour, I’ve never read a more shocking portrayal.

There’s also, perhaps unsurprisingly, a huge amount of poetry that encourages me, struggling with poor health. Here are some of my favourites…

What do you read to help you during a crisis? Answer in the comments!