Dana-Susan Crews, Author

  I know how to speak two languages proficiently, yet somehow I cannot find the words to describe the way this latest Bell Asteri book makes me feel. Only those who know my husband and me best will truly get it but I will try to explain... When I first met Bill, we became instantly connected for two reasons: we were both very into physical fitness and sports; we both were seven years old when we had a younger sibling enduring cancer treatments. Immediately, I experienced that infamous "survivor's guilt" because my baby brother survived his illness and he is living a great life today. Bill, on the other hand, experienced the trauma of his sister's death thanks to the most disgusting of monsters, leukemia. When we first met, I asked him about his sister. He told me about so many of his memories swimming with her and playing Candy Land with her and some of the family fishing trips. But most of his memories were sad ones. He remembered the trips to the children's hosp

  Even though I am pretty good with words, I am at a loss here. I cannot seem to find the words to describe the joy I feel holding this book in my hands. Two young parents put their trust in me to publish this story and only my husband knows how many tears I shed and how many nights I went without sleep through the process. I started the crying as I read through the manuscript. There were moments I had to take a small break and come back to it. Through every word written by this young mom and dad, I felt like I was completely immersed in their life. They only lost their precious four-year-old months ago to the thief known as childhood cancer. Is there anything more tragic than the loss of a child? No! As I poured through the manuscript trying to proofread and do layout and design, I felt a sense of urgency. I wanted this family to have the book in their hands as quickly as possible. I knew they had an event in January and I wasn't sure how long it would take me to do layout and get

While at CureFest last month in Washington D.C., I finally got to meet Mariah Forster Olson face-to-face. She and I have talked many times over the phone or video conferencing. She was one of the first Bell Asteri authors to sign a contract with me and she has already touched my heart and my life so much. Because Mariah is such a kind and generous young woman who never seems to complain, it's almost easy to forget when you're with her that she is in constant, excruciating, debilitating pain. I almost forget she's in a wheel chair or using a cane because her personality takes over and you hardly notice she's physically bound to the aftermath of childhood cancer. You will learn more about this amazing woman when her book is released and you'll see what I mean. Bill and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her in D.C., seeing firsthand how much strength and courage she has. Bill pushed that wheelchair all over town and Mariah fiercely advocated for children with c

  My name is Dana-Susan Crews. Most of my friends call me "DS" or "Dana-Sue". Throughout my life, I have loved telling stories. Even as a toddler, I would tell elaborate stories and then create my own little books with pictures until I learned to write. My books were paper that I stapled together and I still have  some of them today. When I was seven years old, my baby brother was diagnosed with cancer. This was a journey that was filled with darkness, but also with great miracles from God. Luke was not given a good prognosis, but he is a survivor today and a great man. Over the years, I have heard many stories from siblings of childhood cancer survivors and from the survivors themselves about how they made the decision to enter the medical profession because of their experience with childhood cancer. Interestingly, I never wanted to do this. Even as a child, I would always say I wanted to write my brother's story and to write to cure cancer. I didn't even k