Writing to the Light: How a Single Page Can Steady Your Heart

What if one blank page could help you move from fear to strength?

In Cancer Ramblings, Sandy Duarte wrote in hospital rooms with a chemo machine humming nearby. She didn’t start to be a writer. She started to breathe. “I am not a writer,” she admits, “But I had to write” . Those pages became a bridge back to herself and a steady hand to hold for anyone living with cancer, caregiving, or trying to feel whole again.

When the Page Becomes Your Lifeline

There’s a moment in the book where Sandy whispers onto the page, “I don’t know what to write, but I need to write to you.” She calls it an S.O.S., a note to the reader and to herself, repeating a truth many of us need, “You are not alone” . This is writing as oxygen. It isn’t tidy. It is honest. And in that honesty, the body and spirit find room to breathe.

Even the way the book began tells a story. The thoughts and feelings rose while she did laps with her “chemo-friend” on wheels. The words asked to be written, and she chose to put them down, not perfectly, but faithfully, from the middle of treatment .

The Small Question That Changes Everything

After the shock of diagnosis, Sandy pivots from “Why me?” to “Why not?” It is not a slogan. It is a choice. “Why not” turns a spinning mind into forward motion and invites courage to sit at the table. It shifts her from victim to warrior, and from panic to purpose . That mental turn opens the door to acceptance and then to something bigger, a kind of going beyond the fear, where she asks, “What is this showing me?” and learns to trust the unknown and herself .

Write to the Light, A Simple Practice with Real Power

Sandy offers a practice she calls Write to the Light. Journal as if you are writing to your highest, most loving self. When the darkness feels heavy, this voice helps you remember who you are and moves your focus from pain to power . It is not about perfect lines. It is about speaking truth to the part of you that refuses to give your story to fear.

This is how the book treats healing, not just as medical outcome, but as mind, body, and spirit working together. The page becomes a place where all three can meet and help each other .

Try This Tonight

• Begin with a letter to your highest self. You can borrow Sandy’s opening, “I don’t know what to write, but I need to write to you,” then keep going. Say what hurts. Ask for what you need. Let the page be your S.O.S. and your reply .

• Use “Why not” to guide your next line. Write a few sentences that begin with “Why not,” and finish them with possibility, like, “Why not believe in surviving, not dying?” Let your pen practice your bravery .

• Ask Sandy’s questions from acceptance, “What is the lesson?” and “How can I make the most of this time and, at the same time, surrender to time?” See what answers rise in you today, not tomorrow .

• End with a short anchor. Sandy’s mantra, “I was weak, now I am strong,” helped her steady herself when fear surged. Write it and say it out loud until your body hears it .

Words That Help the Body Heal

Sandy points to something many of us feel but struggle to explain. Learning about neuroplasticity gave her permission to believe her thoughts could help rewire her brain. Loving, steady self-talk didn’t just ease her mind, it supported the body’s ability to heal. She even describes speaking to her lungs, calling her left lung back to life with belief and compassion. “I witnessed firsthand” how strong belief and kind words support healing from the inside out .

There were other practical tools too. When fear pressed in, she would repeat, “love, love, love,” letting the word coat the mind and shift the energy. It didn’t erase pain. It gave her a way back to center, one quiet chant at a time .

Doctors noticed something else. Despite very strong chemotherapy, they were struck by her resilience. She credits a grounded mindset and the inner shift that moved her from just surviving to truly living, that “new glow” others saw as she healed .

The Truth About Healing, It Isn’t a Straight Line

One myth Sandy is keen to end, healing is not linear. It is a spiral. That knowledge frees you to be honest on the page. Some days you will feel strong. Some days you will not. Both belong. Write them both. Over time, those pages help you see growth you might have missed in the swirl of it all .

You Are Not Alone, on Paper or in Life

Sandy repeats this like a heartbeat, “You are not alone.” In the book’s S.O.S. letter, she writes it again and again, reminding us that separation lies. We are connected, even unseen . In her daily life, simple acts from family and friends were vital, the calls, the messages, the gifts that said, we’re here. This web of care kept loneliness from swallowing the hard days whole .

Let your journal be one part of that support. When you finish writing, send one text that says, I could use a little company. Then notice how the page and your people work together to hold you up.

A Companion Read for Your Writing Practice

If poetry helps you move feelings through your body, you will find a natural partner to this practice here, Poetry for Healing: Write Your Way Through Cancer. It sits alongside Cancer Ramblings like a friend at the table, inviting your own words to rise.

Tonight, Let the Light Answer Back

This is not about being a writer. It is about being a person who wants to live, fully and honestly, in the middle of a hard thing. Sandy wrote her way toward the light, and it changed her, not into someone new, but into someone more herself. If that is what you want, take one page and begin.

Write to your highest self by name. Ask “Why not?” when fear argues. If panic gathers, whisper “love, love, love” until your breath slows. Close with “I was weak, now I am strong.” Then be still. Listen for the quiet strength that answers back. As Sandy’s pages keep saying, the light you are writing to has always been yours .