Never Ever Give Up


Never Ever Give Up: The Inspiring Story of Jessie and Her JoyJars is the story of Jessica Joy Rees and her family after she is diagnosed with a rare, inoperable brain tumor at just eleven years old. The book chronicles the fight Jessie goes through in an attempt to beat the odds of her grim prognosis, and how she focused not on her illness but how she might bless and help others. She immediately came up with the idea of JoyJars - clear jars stuffed with toys and goodies that were distributed throughout hospitals to children fighting cancers and life threatening illnesses. Told from the viewpoint of her father, which was unique because most (if not all) childhood cancer memoirs I've read have been written from the mother's viewpoint, you will be taken through the diagnosis, illness, Jessie's ultimate and unfortunate death, and the aftermath and impact her brief life has left on the world.

Never Ever Give Up is an inspiring, heartwarming, yet sad story. It was a very quick read - the book wasn't very long and it was definitely a page turner. I read it in just one day. I was a little hesitant to read this book at first due to the sadness of the subject matter, but I was definitely glad I chose to read it once I opened it up. While the story was so heartbreaking, it was also very inspiring and challenges everyone to life by Jessie's motto - "Never Ever Give Up", no matter what challenges you are facing. I had never heard of Jessica Rees or the JoyJars movement before this book, so I think this is a great opportunity to spread awareness about childhood cancers and the Jessica Rees/JoyJar charity. I'd definitely recommend this book. The family's faith is very inspiring.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

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