This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Isabella Milan is from the San Francisco Bay Area and educated in Southern California. She completed three degrees, including an MS in Sports Psychology, an MBA and a Doctoral Candidate in Clinical Psychology. Due to her life-threatening cancer, she underwent two mastectomies and reconstruction surgeries during 2004-2005. In 2007, Isabella encountered Stage 4 Breast Cancer metastasis to her brain, leading to another surgery. In 2008, she was diagnosed with Hydrocephalus. A shunt was surgically inserted into her brain to drain the water in her brain to her bladder. Isabella has looked breast cancer and other illnesses in the face and survived their wrath. Her motto: Keep Fighting! Never Give Up! God Has You!! She is a 15-year Stage 4 Breast Cancer Survivor, resides in Texas, and is currently enjoying seeing her son experience college life. A site she thought she would never survive to see.
Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite
Praying For a Miracle When It’s Hopeless by Isabella Milan is a gut-wrenching, no-holds-barred account of author Milan’s life when she was facing the twin traumas of a nasty, custody-battle-filled divorce at the same time as she was trying to deal with what is usually seen as a terminal diagnosis – Stage 4 Breast Cancer. Isabella, like all little girls, had dreamed of marrying and loving a true prince and she genuinely believed she had found that man. What began as a beautiful, loving marriage, however, quickly deteriorated into her worst nightmare. Having suffered from early breast cancer and taken radical action with a double mastectomy, the author was stunned, shocked and frightened to discover later that she now had Stage 4 Breast Cancer – a death sentence to be sure, she assumed. Deserted by her husband and sent to live with her mother on the other side of the country, Milan struggled to cope with rejection and disease. Yet, despite the odds, the author will find the strength, the will and the determination to fight back, to beat the odds and to regain her life.
This is a powerful story of one woman’s desire and determination to defeat seemingly overwhelming odds. Praying For a Miracle When It’s Hopeless will tug hard on any reader’s heartstrings but what comes through author Isabella Milan’s tale of courage is her overwhelming belief in herself, her faith, and her desire to reunite with the son that had been so cruelly snatched away from her. As I read this book, I couldn’t help but marvel at this woman’s matter-of-fact presentation of the facts on breast cancer recovery and the likelihood of death. She shied away from nothing – nothing was sacrosanct or taboo to discuss, which made this book so real and so important, especially for those who suffer from any pernicious illness or trauma. Divided into two clear halves, the first half of the book discusses Milan’s personal trauma and experience, with the second half dedicated to suggestions and techniques for dealing with pain, illness, and people’s expectations. It was this well-roundedness of the story that made it so appealing and so memorable to me, as a reader. For me, a highlight was the recounting of a friend’s stunned reactions to seeing Milan alive and well years after having written her off as a person about to die due to her Stage 4 “death sentence”. Milan was having none of that and as she said, although there’s no cure for Stage 4, there is a way through it and beyond. This is an inspirational tale that is well worth the read even if you are hale and healthy.
