Megan Lloyd Davies

Hannah's Choice

by Hannah & Kirsty Jones & Megan Lloyd Davies

Hannah Jones was just four when she was diagnosed with leukaemia and the gruelling chemotherapy drugs which helped her beat the disease also damaged her heart. Doctors hoped that Hannah's body would learn to cope but aged twelve she suffered sudden heart failure. Her only chance of survival was a transplant but it was risky and her mother Kirsty knew one thing: Hannah deserved to decide her own destiny after years of ill health. Filled with wisdom and grace, tears and laughter, Hannah's Choice is about beating the odds and finding joy in each day.

Does a child have the 'right to die'? Can they ever have the maturity to refuse surgery that might save their life? These were the kind of questions that 12-year-old Hannah’s story raised after she said she didn't want a heart transplant and her story made headlines worldwide. This was the first book I wrote with two voices – Hannah's and her mother's Kirsty – because readers needed to understand an almost impossible choice: why Hannah herself decided she didn't want the transplant and also why her parents allowed her to make that decision.

Hannah's Choice was published by Harper Collins. Translation rights sold in Holland and China.