A MOTHER’S JOURNEY THROUGH LOVE, LOSS AND HOPE

As a mother, nothing prepares you for the emotional and physical challenges that come with a serious illness.

When Vanessa Maiorano was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma her daughter was only 18- months-old and she had just given birth to her son.

“I didn’t have a second to process the news. Before I knew it, I was receiving chemotherapy and thrown headfirst into a whirlwind," she says.

"I experienced every side effect imaginable from infections to nausea, fatigue, hair loss, and everything in between. I was constantly in hospital, which meant countless nights away from my children. That separation was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to endure.”

Vanessa was initially told her treatment would last six months, but her journey stretched over three gruelling years, involving multiple rounds of treatment and 17 surgeries.

“It’s important to acknowledge just how vulnerable treatment can make you. Cancer treatment can be relentless and impacts every part of your life physically, mentally, emotionally, and as a parent.”

She endured numerous lymph node extractions from her neck, collarbone, behind her heart, and various aspects of her illness.

“When my hair was first shaved, it was incredibly hard. My daughter Mila, who was only a toddler at the time, wouldn’t come to me without encouragement.

"That moment is etched into my heart. As a mother, all you want is for your children to feel safe and close to you. Cancer takes so much, even from the people around you.

"Mila would also touch my head gently and ask where my hair went. I didn’t have answers that made sense to her then, but I promised her there was still love, always love, no matter how mummy looked or felt.”

As her children grew older, their questions grew too. Amid the most difficult time of her life, Vanessa faced the heartbreaking challenge of explaining her illness in a way their little hearts could understand.

“When I looked at my children, I knew I needed to find a way to help them understand what was happening to me. I wanted them to know that, despite changing things, my love for them would never waver,“ she says.

Finding the right words was tough. There were few resources to help parents navigate these big, scary conversations in a gentle, loving way. 

Vanessa began to write letters filled with honesty, softness, and most of all — love.

“Quiet reflections in the middle of the night, in hospital waiting rooms or nights in hospital, it was a way to capture what I was feeling and what I wanted them to know if one day I couldn’t be here to tell them,” she says.

Those letters became the foundation for her book There is Always Love. A tender, beautifully illustrated story that offers comfort and opens the door to meaningful conversations about facing cancer or serious illness with children, while reminding them the love from their parents and caregivers is constant and unbreakable.

While this story centres on a mother’s personal journey through cancer, it’s just the beginning.

There Is Always Love is the first in a series of books designed to explore other difficult topics like grief, anxiety, and separation — all through the eyes of young children, with the reassuring message that no matter what, there is always love.

The series will include 16 books, from There is Always Love: When Mum and Dad Live Apart to There is Always Love: Even When the World Feels Scary.

Each one is a promise to Vanessa’s children and to every child who may be walking through life’s harder moments. 

“It is my hope that these books become a gentle companion for families, offering the comfort and reassurance that even when the world feels uncertain, there is always love," she says.

There is Always Love available wherever you buy your books.