A decade after her diagnosis, Laura Price found that writing her novel, Single Bald Female, not only helped her to process her grief, but also provided her legacy.
My humour-laden articles didn’t reflect the fear and sadness I felt
I’ve written a diary since I was a little girl, but for some reason, when I was diagnosed with breast cancer at 29, I stopped. There’s an entry from June 2012 where I told myself I’d be just fine, then nothing, until I finished treatment eight months later.
I didn’t stop writing entirely – I blogged my way through surgery, chemo and radiotherapy – but my upbeat, humour-laden articles didn’t reflect the real fear and sadness I felt. I’m sad that I can’t read my journals from that time, but I made up for it with my novel, Single Bald Female.
I listed myself on my dating profile as a ‘single, bald (possibly infertile) female’
I was single throughout my treatment. While my friends were busy getting married, I was huddled under a duvet, watching their love stories unfold on Instagram.
By the time active treatment ended, I wanted to meet someone, but was unsure what to write on my dating profile. I settled on the truth, listing myself as a ‘single, bald (possibly infertile) female’.
When a blog I wrote about my dating experience went viral, I realised how little information there was about young women and cancer, and that I could use my voice to help others.
I created characters, friendships and love stories to escape my world
Four years later, I began to write. Instead of memoir, I opted for fiction, creating characters, friendships and love stories to escape my own world. Although cancer is the saddest of subjects, I peppered the novel with humour – I wanted it to be uplifting because no one wants to read a book that makes them cry from start to finish.
The novel isn’t about my own life, but writing it helped me to process my grief through my characters and everything they represent.
Single Bald Female was published in April 2022, and seeing it in the window of Waterstones was one of the proudest moments of my life. Cancer may have taken away my chance of future motherhood, but I had created my own legacy.
Don’t put off your dreams for a distant day that might never come
Then, just three months after my book launch, after suffering from pain in my sternum, I found out the cancer had spread to my bones and was now incurable. A whole 10 years had passed since my primary diagnosis. I was distraught – I had only just met the love of my life – but I also found myself filled with gratitude. I had a whole decade of being cancer-free, and I stuffed it full with life. I wrote the book I’d wanted to write since I was that little girl scribbling in her diary every day.
As every cancer patient knows, life is short, and there’s no point putting off your dreams for some distant future day that might never come. I fulfilled my childhood dream to write a novel and I’m so proud of it. When will you write yours?
Single Bald Female (Pan Macmillan) by Laura Price is out now.
Five tips for writing a novel or memoir – from author Laura Price
1. Write! Simply put, your book won’t write itself. I make notes on my phone whenever I think of good material, so that when I sit down at my computer, I have a starting point. If you chip away at it gradually, you’ll have a first draft before you know it.
2. Read, read, read. Read everything you can get your hands on, within your own genre and outside it. This will feed your brain while helping you to hone your own writing style.
3. Find a writing community. Writing is a lonely business and it’s easy to throw in the towel. Instead of sharing your work with friends and family (who will only say nice things), find a group of fellow writers who will give you honest, constructive criticism and encouragement.
4. Do your research. To have a book published, you’ll need an agent. The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook is a brilliant resource to help you figure out how it works.
5. Believe in yourself! There is no writer in the world who hasn’t suffered rejection at some stage, so you’ll need to be resilient. Give yourself time to recover after each setback, then pick yourself up and carry on. It’ll be worth it in the end. Read my tips on dealing with rejection here.
You can follow Laura’s story on Instagram @LauraPriceWrites or on Twitter at @LauraPriceWrite, and subscribe to her newsletter at lauraprice.substack.com.