So many people are in pain these days, enduring hard times, facing challenges. They are wondering, ‘How do I do this?’ Amy Low is the perfect guide. – David Brooks, New York Times columnist and bestselling author

“This book will be a treasure, to live by, to wrap up with a bow and give to everyone you know.” —Amanda Ripley, New York Times bestselling author of The Smartest Kids in the World, The Unthinkable, and High Conflict

“Deeply wise, profound, gorgeously written.” —Dave Isay, New York Times bestselling author of Listening is an Act of Love

“Amy’s story of hope and perseverance in the face of pain and heartache is one that will resonate with and inspire many.” —Laurene Powell Jobs, founder and president, Emerson Collective

“Poignant and powerful.” —J. Dana Trent, New York Times bestselling author of Preparing for Death while Savoring Life

Lessons and advice for navigating uncertainty in the worst of times.

Amy Low resides in a room that is her last—her medical team is clear-eyed with her: there is no cure for Stage IV metastatic colon cancer, and the odds of long-term survival are scant. Miraculously, she’s lived four years with her diagnosis, and that life between life has changed her.

Through the swirl of prolonged trauma and unbearable grief, a vantage point emerged—a window that showed her the way to relish life and be kinder to herself and others while living through the inevitable loss and heartbreak that crosses everyone’s paths. Instead of viewing joy and sorrow as opposites, she saw how both exist in harmony, full of mystery and surprise. Instead of seeing days as succeeding or failing, and physical selves as healthy or unwell, she’s learned to carry both achievements and afflictions in stride. And instead of bitterness and betrayal, forgiveness—toward her body, toward others, toward herself—became her wisest light.

Mapping her experiences to the words that St. Paul wrote in his own last room, The Brave In-Between is a sacred invitation to explore that space between triumph and tragedy. We all have a heart to marvel at miracles, a lightness to spot the absurdity, and an imagination to pause and extend empathy for others—even when tragedy strikes. Sometimes we just need a guide.

“This book is an invitation to reside in the brave in between—the courageous middle—in a way that’s equipped by the stories we gather from our very best and very worst days. It explores the possibilities of this courageous middle of our own lives, and the broader courageous middle space in our culture – a space where moral courage, forgiveness, and resetting with grace are becoming far too rare… This is a space where dualities might find a way to dance.”