Hi there, friends.

For those of you who don’t know me well yet, let me introduce myself: I’m Kristin Harmel, the New York Times bestselling author of more than dozen novels, including The Book of Lost Names, The Forest of Vanishing Stars, and The Paris Daughter, which have been translated into more than 30 languages. More importantly, I’m the mom of a really awesome first grader named Noah.

If you’ve found your way here, you may have heard that I was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer in late 2022 and began chemotherapy in December 2022. This is a journey I didn’t expect, certainly, but I have so much to be thankful for, including the fact that we live in an age where early-stage breast cancer is so treatable.

Susan G. Komen is one of the organizations we can thank for that. To date, they’ve invested more than $3.3 billion– yes, that’s $3.3 billion with a “B”—in groundbreaking research, community health outreach, advocacy and programs in more than 60 countries. Their efforts have helped reduce deaths from breast cancer in the United States by 42 percent since 1989. As of 2022, they’ve provided nearly $1.1 billion to researchers in 47 states, the District of Columbia and 21 countries. Those funds—a higher amount than any other nonprofit, and second only to the United States government—have supported more than 2,700 breast cancer research studies, and more than 500 clinical trials, leading to more than 3,000 discoveries and advancements in patient care. To me, someone whose current treatment is a direct result of studies like these, those numbers are staggering.

But breast cancer survival isn’t just about scientific advancements. It’s about diagnosing the disease early, and Komen’s incredible work in community health outreach and advocacy is crucial in educating women about early detection. The most common tests to detect breast cancer are screening mammograms and clinical breast exams, which you can learn more about here.

Why is this so important to me? It’s because my own breast cancer was found only because I kept up with my annual screening mammogram.

I was 43 years old at diagnosis. I don’t have any relevant family history. I didn’t feel a lump. I had no idea that I had a cancerous tumor growing inside my right breast until I went in for my annual mammogram in October 2022. And because the cancer cells turned out to be particularly aggressive, it likely would have grown—and begun to spread—quickly if we hadn’t caught it so early.  That annual mammogram might just have saved my life.

So today, I ask two things of you:

I think that when something like this happens in life, one of the first things we ask is, “Why?” In my case, it was also, “Why is this happening to me now, when my son is only 6 and needs his mom?” That question has been a really wrenching one for me, but I hope that in sharing my story with you, I’m beginning to find my way to an answer. I never lose sight, not for a second, of how very lucky I am to have the job that I do. It is a tremendous honor to be able to make a career of writing novels that travel all around the world in translation, and to be able to connect with so many of you through the pages of those books (and through the weekly Friends & Fiction web show and podcast I co-host every Wednesday night along with fellow New York Times bestselling novelists Mary Kay Andrews, Patti Callahan Henry, and Kristy Woodson Harvey).

So maybe that’s part of the “why” for me. Maybe I’ve been given this gift of connecting with so many of you so that I’m in a position to encourage you to get your own mammogram scheduled and to perhaps even join me in making a difference.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story. I wish you health and happiness always. Now go get that mammogram!

xoxo,
Kristin