The Following Is a Sneak Peek from the Award-Winning Memoir
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The following is a sneak peek from the award-winning memoir,
Dream Accomplished:
A Story of Cancer, A Mother’s Love & Taylor Swift by Elizabeth Gross
Paying forward the kindness Taylor has shown the Gross Family, all profits are donated to fund cancer and invisible illness research and support causes.For additional information, or to purchase a book, please visit
Thank You Taylor
“We wanted to say Thank You, to you, Taylor”,
is how the last paragraph of this book begins.
Yet this book really should start like that as well,
because even though this is our personal story of a cancer journey
and a mother’s love for her daughter, it ultimately is a Thank You to Taylor Swift.
So I’ve decided to start it like that as well.
Let’s begin…..
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Part I
You Have Cancer
Chapter 1
You know what, Mom?
Taylor always makes me feel better
“We wanted to say ‘Thank You, Taylor’, to you, & all we know who helped our daughter, Page, on our mission to meet you; Charlie, B., Mr. Clarke, Erika, Andrea & Scott Swift, Craig T., your neighbor on the right and to any others who helped that we’ve accidentally forgotten or never knew were involved. Thank you all so much! From Cleveland, Ohio, to Nashville, Tennessee, on to Omaha, Nebraska and back to Cleveland…. This adventure has given us something happy to focus on, and you’ve put smiles and hope back into our lives that we will remember always. Thank You! We wish you all the best!
-Sincerely, Elizabeth, Marc and Page Gross”
That note accompanied a thank you letter we sent to singer, Taylor Swift, just after our adventure ended. An adventure that reaffirmed in us the goodness of others, and rekindled our enthusiasm to go for and accomplish our dreams. An adventure that turned our lives around, put my focus back on track and one that we will never forget. An adventure that started with the simple phrase, “You know what, Mom? Taylor always makes me feel better”.
My, then, 8 year old daughter Page, said this to me in the fall of 2012. She said it simply and without thinking. A smile softly lit up her face as she passed me on her way through the kitchen.
I stopped washing dishes and thought that that smile was the first one I’d seen from her in quite a long while. Standing there as I listened to her quietly singing in the other room, I thought back over our life and realized that she was right.
Ever since Page was about 6, Taylor’s music and the closeness Page felt with her, did cheer her up whenever she was down. And down we definitely all were. The lives of my family and I, had
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been on an emotional and physical roller coaster ever since we’d heard my doctor say, “Elizabeth, You have cancer”.
That news had come out of the blue, and I realized that even though I felt like my life was spinning out of control, that I wasn’t the only one that news had affected. My husband Marc, and our daughter Page, had been right there with me all this time, helping me cope. Navigating with me through multiple doctor visits, holding my hand as I endured painful, nerve wracking tests, traveling with me cross country to see specialists, waiting and praying with me as I endured bone marrow biopsies, surgeries, and chemo. Keeping up with the house, picking up my slack, sitting quietly with me when I needed to rest and spending many, many hours reading, researching, and trying to help me answer unanswerable questions. This had become our life. Yet they’d never complained. They’d tried to keep me positive and just adjusted their lives to our new reality.
Our life now was so much more different than it was just a few years ago. Page’s smile reminded me of all those happier, normal days when Page would wear her hot pink cowboy boots and a salmon colored t-shirt with the face of Taylor Swift on the front. We’d found that shirt one day at a garage sale, and it instantly became her favorite. Each morning we’d get ready for the day and out she’d strut. T-shirt on, boots on, hands on her hips, heel down, toe up and grinning. Marc and I would look at her and then at each other and smile. Wash after wash it was her favorite. By the time it no longer fit, that picture of Taylor was almost gone.
I realized, hearing her softly singing, that Page was still turning to Taylor. She was wearing different Taylor Swift shirts now, but she’d lost that happy pep to her step. So, in that quick moment in passing, thinking about those happier days, I decided right then and there that I was going to do something special to cheer my family up.
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Pulling out the kitchen chair I sat down to think of what I could do. Unfortunately thinking about those good moments, only intensified the changes in our life and brought back into sharp focus my memories about when we’d found out the worst……
The following are Reviews from the back cover of Dream Accomplished
PRAISE FOR ‘Dream Accomplished’
“This book is an unbelievably sweet testament to a family that never gives up, and strives to see the positive even in the toughest of times. I teared up several times reading about Elizabeth’s journey. She’s gone through so much, yet her love for her daughter and desire to help others shines through like a beautiful light. Between the
descriptions of what has helped her on her cancer journey and the incredible moments her family shared searching for Taylor Swift, this is a must read story.”
‐Danielle Sills, WKYC producer
“While everyone’s MPN journey is different, Elizabeth’s story will ring true to many patients. Elizabeth’s description of when she first heard the words, “You have cancer” will remind cancer patients that we are all connected by that one powerful moment.”
‐William Crowley, Director of Development mpnresearchfoundation.org
“Seeing Taylor Swift, who is so far beyond ‘needing’ the public, reach out and embrace a young fan, makes it all that more touching. She’s a genuine class act.”
‐Chuck Yarborough, Pop Music Critic,
The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio
“This book takes you on an incredible journey.
One that allows you to experience the fear and confusion of a cancer diagnosis,
the determination of the fight and
most importantly, a mother’s love.
Sprinkle that with some help from pop star Taylor Swift and you have a Dream Accomplished.”
‐Monica Robins, WKYC Senior Health Correspondent