A Recipe for Recovery

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BBC Radio 4 - A Recipe for Recovery

The intimate story of a mother and daughter sharing the healing power of making jam.

How do you return to normal life after surviving cancer? The intimate story of a mother and daughter sharing the healing power found in the simple act of making jam.

In 2021, producer Anna de Wolff Evans’ mother Emma was diagnosed with a rare type of leukaemia. Now, two gruelling years of treatment later, she’s in remission. But returning to ‘normal life’ after such a traumatic disruption isn’t always a straightforward process.

Much of the language around cancer survival is about ‘thriving’ and ‘seizing opportunities’, as if a near-death experience teaches you to live each day as if it’s your last. But for some people, the reality is a much more complex experience, with the physical and mental effects of cancer often still felt long after remission.

For Emma, the simple act of making jam has become a metaphor for her recovery journey. This touching and honest story looks at what life can be like in the aftermath of cancer and the profound healing power that can be found in the ordinary routines of daily life.

Producer: Anna de Wolff Evans

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