Penguin Ireland, 2007
In early 2006, Lia Mills went to the dentist, worried about a painful lump in her cheek. In Your Face is an account of what happened next: a diagnosis of oral cancer, surgery to remove the tumour and reconstruct her jaw; a broken leg that came about as a result of a bone graft and that went undiagnosed for several weeks; radiotherapy and resulting illness; and, finally, recovery. Based on the journals she kept even when she was feeling her worst, In Your Face gives an extraordinary day-by-day account of what Lia went through. It also observes more beauty and comedy in the world than most of us notice even when we’re feeling our best. It is not so much a book about cancer as a book about life. it should be read by anyone who wants to understand illness and recovery, fear and hope and love.
‘An astonishing, essential book, full of the grace and sweetness of being alive’ – Anne Enright
‘The bravery and love and zest for experience displayed by Lia Mills, and encountered by her, in the darkest depths of her illness, makes this exceptional book a gift of life’ – Nuala O’Faolain
Libran Writer (Lia Mills) 