As a free-spirited, independent woman, Bronnie Ware was used to donning a variety of hats: singer, songwriter, author, speaker, traveler, and adventurer. And as her soul would have it in her mid-forties, she felt the urge to add one more, mother.

Ware, author of The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, had learned many lessons as a palliative-care giver, and she began to absorb even more from the opposite end of the spectrum as a giver of life. Only a few moments into motherhood, however, Ware’s body had a different idea, when chronic crippling pain from an auto-immune disease took hold.

In this inspiring memoir, Ware reminds us that whether life’s lessons arrive through illness, trauma, or any other unexpected upheaval, life really does love us. By finding the courage to confront her upper limits, surrender to life’s blessings, and have gratitude every step of the way, Ware discovered how to bloom in a field of formidable challenges.