David Bowie + Alan Rickman + cancer charity = Stardust, Always

This is a different type of post than I usually make. Because it’s not about me; it’s about making the world a better place.

If that sounds cheesy, I hear you. But give me a second to explain.

One of my poems, “Change and the Great Beyond,” is included in the forthcoming charity anthology, Stardust, Always, a tribute to David Bowie and Alan Rickman.

That probably sounds like my usual blog content, right? But wait!

I trust you know that both David Bowie and Alan Rickman succumbed to cancer at the age of 69, within 4 days of one another, earlier this year.

What you probably don’t know is… this news really broke my heart.

I know, lots of people think celebrity deaths are meaningless. But they’re wrong. Because our heroes are important to us, no matter how imperfect they really are. They represent the best in us, don’t they?

Frankly, I was devastated by the news. First Bowie, one of my favorite musicians, as well as the Goblin King of Labyrinth (one of my favorite movies as a kid who grew up in the 80s) passed away, just a few days after releasing an amazing new album.

Then Rickman, who’s basically portrayed all of the best villains in cinema (Hans Gruber from Die Hard, the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves), not to mention Marvin, the paranoid android, from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and even the voice of God, aka Megatron, in Kevin Smith’s Dogma.

https://youtu.be/6ZhCCu-2gbw

Two legends, snuffed out by the same disease. Coincidence? Or catalyst?

As Stardust, Always attests, their deaths did not go unnoticed, unmourned. And since artists strive to make something positive out of something negative, I jumped at the chance to join this anthology, which benefits St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital – a cancer charity here in the U.S.

This book is not about me. It’s about helping others by finding a cure to a terrible disease: cancer.

So, if you have a spare $3.99, please pre-order this volume at Amazon. Or, if you’re feeling generous, wait for the paperback release on June 4. And, if you’re on Facebook, join us for an online launch party with tons of giveaways and swag on June 5 (you can come in your PJs, from anywhere in the world)! Either way, I hope you feel compelled to buy a copy in honor of David Bowie and Alan Rickman, to give cancer the finger and support the memory of all those we’ve lost much too soon to this terrible disease.

Stardust, Always,
Laura