One True Scrapper
One True Scrapper
One True Scrapper: A Memoir of Childhood Cancer, Good Eyeliner, and a Fighting Spirit by Kaden Peebles
6x9 Paperback, 310 pages, ISBN: 978-1-944528-22-5, $18.95.
Shifting from competitive cheerleader in pink to teen fighting for survival from a rare bone cancer and leukemia, Kaden Peebles reminds us all that every victory, no matter the size, is an occasion for celebration.
ABOUT
As a cheerleader beginning her junior year of high school in a small Arkansas town—home of The Nashville Scrappers—Kaden Peebles nursed an annoying pain in her hip with ibuprofen. What was first explained away and treated as a sports injury continued to escalate until a scan revealed the worst-case-scenario: a malignant tumor and a diagnosis of Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare and aggressive bone cancer.
Plunged into the world of hospitals, port placement, chemo, needles, blood counts, and the delicate balance of killing cancer while not dying, Kaden shifted into her new identity as a 17-year-old with cancer. To survive physically and emotionally through three cancer diagnoses, Kaden would draw on every lesson she learned as a member of her highly-charged and deeply-loyal school community.
Nearly 7 years of fighting cancer, 35 rounds of chemo, 40 radiation sessions, 2 bone marrow transplants, and more than 180 blood transfusions later—and having witnessed the deaths of numerous children fighting cancer alongside her—Kaden reflects on how her relentless charge to survive cancer with her family, healthcare team, and community by her side has shaped her young life, guided by the belief that what might take her body could never defeat her spirit.
PRAISE
“Peebles writes of her journey through childhood cancer with clear prose and spot-on candor. One True Scrapper is a story about phenomenal resilience in the face of near insurmountable odds and of the girl who grew into a remarkable young woman while living through it all. I highly recommend reading this book, especially if you are facing unexpected challenges in your own life. It is inspiring!”
— Jay Wellons, MD, All That Moves Us: a pediatric neurosurgeon, his young patients, and their stories of grace and resilience (The New Yorker Best Books of 2022, Publishers Weekly starred review and Best Nonfiction Books of 2022)
“This astounding, inspirational journey can help us all face difficult challenges as we learn from a small-town teen whose life is repeatedly turned upside down. Peebles fights cancer and the traumatic, dangerous, and painful treatments that go with it; she fights the loss of a normal high school experience; she fights multiple recurrences, new diagnoses, and bone marrow transplants; she fights the normal urges to give up hope. She wins all of those fights and not only provides an example of resilience, but practical ways to find light in the hardest of circumstances.”
—David L. Becton, MD, Professor and Chief, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Arkansas Children’s Hospital and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
“One True Scrapper is not just Kaden’s Story. Through Kaden’s eyes, we see the world of childhood cancer patients. With grit, faith, and compassion she conquers the unthinkable, three separate times. She is one true hero for the oncology community.”
—Naina S. Mahngar, MD, Medical Hematology/Oncology
“ . . . a clear-eyed, sometimes harrowing, often hilarious account of Peebles' experience and a testament to her indefatigable determination in the face of overwhelming challenges.”
—Sean Clancy, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
