Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Never Surrender

Today I’m participating in Elana Johnson’s bloghop for the release of her novel SURRENDER.

I’m not going to share my story, however, but someone else’s.

Andy Whitfield was a talented actor, a father, a husband and a strong and handsome guy. When he was up for the part of SPARTICUS in the Australian television series SPARTICUS: Blood and Sand, he and his family kept a positive attitude and spread post-it notes throughout the house reading ‘Andy IS Sparticus!!’ He eventually won the roll.

Andy was living the dream until he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in March 2010 and a completely different goal took up the thoughts and prayers of him and his loved ones.

He just wanted to stay alive.

He fought hard. He didn’t give up. But in September 2011, after an 18 month battle, the cancer won out and he passed, leaving behind him a wife and two young children.

But that didn’t mean Andy had surrendered. During those 18 months, he filmed a documentary about his struggle. He hoped, in sharing his story and showing how cancer can destroy a perfectly strong, healthy body and affect a family, he might raise awareness and funds for cancer research and help others in their struggle.

Unfortunately, since his death, the documentary has lacked the funding needed for additional filming and editing. And yet, his family and friends refuse to surrender. They’ve begun the BE HERE NOW project on Kickstarter and many other blogs and professionals have joined the battle, including Kathy Bradey, an Australian author and blogger who has organized a Writer’s Auction to raise funds for Andy Whitfield’s documentary.  The auction offers up chapter and query critiques from well established YA authors.  There are some fantastic writers on that list and I encourage you all to have a look! It begins today and you can find all the details here.

Thank you Kathy, for bringing this project to light. Andy’s story should be shared. 

31 comments:

Natalie Aguirre said...

What a great Never Surrender post. Thanks for sharing it Katie. I've heard about the auction. It's definitely a great cause to support.

JE said...

That's so sad, but at the same time, gives hope and spreads awareness. Thank you for choosing that as the Never Surrender post.

~JD

Leigh Caron said...

Great that you used your Never Surrender slot to highlight this sad story and also the auction.

Christine Danek said...

What a great post and I will be checking that out.

Petro said...

That's a very touching story.
Too bad all great things and the best intentions depend on money, like in this case.

Hugs

Jenny said...

I remember reading about Andy's death, but I did not know about the movie project. Thanks for sharing this story.

Old Kitty said...

I'm all weepy eyed. :-( What a loss, what a wonderful human being.

Take care
x

Dianne K. Salerni said...

That is a true example of Never Surrender and an inspiring legacy.

TC Avey said...

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. What a great cause, I hope to someday see this documentary!

Julie DeGuia said...

A very moving story. Thanks for sharing.

Kathy Bradey said...

Thanks for sharing this, Katie! <3

Tasha Seegmiller said...

This is so amazing. Thanks for letting us know about him.

Kimberly Gabriel said...

Stopping by from the blogfest...I love this story! I hadn't heard it before. Thank you for passing it along! What a tremendous man and what a beautiful family to not give up on making sure his story is shared.

LD Masterson said...

There is a big difference between not beating something and surrendering. Thank you for sharing this.

Anonymous said...

Hi Katie. What a touching story. Thanks for sharing it.

Kelly Polark said...

Excellent post, Katie. I hope they get the funds for their project. An amazing story for the Surrender blogfest.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

It just needs funding? Need to make that happen!

Anonymous said...

Wow. What a story!

Marsha Sigman said...

Oh, Katie. I've been a fan of Andy's since the beginning. Myself and a circle of my friends followed what was happening to him through the entire ordeal.

We keep pics of him at work on our computers so we never forget. He still IS Spartacus to us and so many others.

Spreading the word, my friend. We will make this documentary happen. Thank you!!!

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

What an inspirational story! I haven't heard of this before. I love when the YA community comes together like this.

Stina said...

What a great example of never surrendering. Thanks for the link. I'm off to check it out now.

Ciara said...

Thanks for a great, never surrender post. Loved it. Thanks for sharing.

Crack You Whip said...

This is a great story! Love the never surrender topic!

Talli Roland said...

What a wonderful story of never giving up, despite all the obstacles.

Jeremy Bates said...

Sad but good story. I'm sure that if those folks get the right publicity the film can be made.

One angle I would suggest is to get a hold of some of the local community college film school students. You'd be surprised with the wealth of knowledge they possess as many have been doing what they are learning before they got in school.

It's worth a try! Good luck.

Laura Pauling said...

Stories like that put life into perspective that's for sure. How sad. I hope they raise the money!

Writer Pat Newcombe said...

A sad but lovely story! Sending masses of good luck your way. Never surrender is absolutely apt!

Barbara Watson said...

I was not aware of this, so thank you for using your Never Surrender post for it.

Elana Johnson said...

A perfect Never Surrender post! It's clear that this sort of winning attitude can affect more than just a person, but a family, a nation, a world.

Thanks for posting!

Elana Johnson said...

A perfect Never Surrender post! It's clear that this sort of winning attitude can affect more than just a person, but a family, a nation, a world.

Thanks for posting!

Sophia Chang said...

Oh my goodness thank you for sharing this.

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