Nine-Year-Old Publishes Book of Poems

This article in the Lansing State Journal tells of the fortuitously last-named Olivia Whitman, who just published her first book of poems, You Make My Face Smile, which "details her struggle after undergoing surgery to remove an aggressive brain tumor":

Olivia was diagnosed with pineoblastoma, an aggressive type of brain tumor, in April 2010, when she was in the second grade. She underwent surgery at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing four days later, where the tumor was removed, and then underwent proton radiation in Texas that summer.

Since the surgery, Olivia has received an MRI every three months to check for any tumor resurgence, and she remains cancer free.

Olivia's classmates were able to take a look at the book during a signing Friday morning at DeWitt's Scott Elementary library.

A mix of young students and residents lined up even before the 10 a.m. event to have Olivia scrawl her name and a smiley face in their copies.

"Every little girl's got a wish," said Nancy Backus of DeWitt, who read about Olivia's book signing in the Lansing State Journal. "What can you do but to respond to it? You've got to go."

The last of the more than 100 copies of "You Make My Face Smile" was picked up less than 90 minutes after the signing began.