When Life Goes Tits Up by Matt Brandon (Pre-order now + P&P)

All my profits from this book will go to our charity for Children with Cancer UK

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“A Promise I Made” is more than a subtitle—it’s exactly what this book is.

While holding my dying daughter’s hand as she tried to process the news that she had only eight weeks left to live, I did everything I could to help her cope with the fear, confusion, and heartbreak that comes with being told “game over.” Time had suddenly become precious. As her father, my job was simple: to support her and help her make sense of what lay ahead.

The previous two and a half years had already been unimaginably hard. She had battled breast cancer and endured everything that comes with such a cruel disease. Faced with the devastating possibility that chemotherapy could take away her chance of becoming a mum, she made the brave decision to prioritise IVF treatment. With the support of family and friends, we gave everything we had to care for her, to comfort her, and to make those final weeks count.

But the hardest reality of all – she was dying. Every dream she had for her future was suddenly taken away.

I asked her every question I could think of. I didn’t want to live with regrets about
what I should have said once she was gone. I felt sick, drained, and exhausted,
but somehow found the strength to ask one more: “When you’re gone, is there anything you need me to do for you?”

That question opened the floodgates. Most of her requests were practical. But
then she said the words that still echo in my head every single day:

“Dad, you’ve got to tell my story. Please write a book or something.”

“Of course I will,” I replied, my voice breaking as I struggled to hold it together.

“What shall we call it?” I asked.

Without hesitation, she said: When Life Goes Tits Up.

It was perfect. Bold, honest, and full of character—just like her.

Seven years later, I have finally finished. This book tells the full journey: the tears, the laughter, the heartbreak—and most importantly, the silver linings you have to search for when life deals you a bad hand.

Writing it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I’m not an academic, and I’ve struggled with English all my life. But I kept going, because this was never just about writing a book.

This was…a promise I made!

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A father’s promise to tell his brave daughter’s story – her humour, courage, and fight through breast cancer, relentless treatment, and impossible moments. It’s a raw, honest journey of love, loss, and resilience, revealing what families face behind closed doors… and the silver linings found in the darkest places.

FORWARD by Gavin A.Maggs – Chief Executive, Children with Cancer UK

This is not a sad story.  It is a story of a father’s love for his daughter, of the power of family, friends and community, of mental health challenges, a woman’s desperation to be a mum, and of how it is possible to turn inexplicable grief into purpose and hope.

As the Chief Executive of Children with Cancer UK I have had the privilege of meeting the family and friends of Sammy Jo, and on each occasion it has been humbling.  Out of darkness they have created light.

Through dedication, commitment and imagination they have raised more than half a million pounds for our charity, to fund research into paediatric cancer and support children and their families during and after their cancer treatments.  10 children every day are diagnosed with cancer, and out of those 10, 2 will not survive.

Of the 8 who do survive, 5 will do so with long-term effects of their treatments because of protocols that are forty years old and because they were treated by drugs that are designed for adults.  The work of the Sammy Jo Brandon Foundation enables us to accelerate progress towards a world where a child not only survives their cancer diagnosis, but thrives.

I encourage you to read this book. For anyone facing unimaginable circumstances, Matt’s story is a testament to the light that can follow the darkness and the profound hope that can emerge from pain. May it encourage you, as it did Matt’s family, to find your own purpose and perhaps even inspire your own fundraising efforts.

Matt’s voice comes through loud and clear in this book, and he has important things to say about assisted dying, navigating the NHS, mental health among men, and the nature and strength of a father’s love.  He also has highly entertaining observations about hair, boobs, cannabis oil and the power of friendship – the tattoos that now adorn the bodies of family and friends are testament to that.

As is the tale of Sammy Jo’s funeral and the planning that went into it, as well as of all the individual boxes.  I’m not sure anyone could have predicted how much good, how much money would be raised in Sammy Jo’s memory, that started with £6,700 at her funeral.  I thank Robyn who came up with the idea for the Foundation, everyone who has supported the charity, and you for buying this book because the proceeds will come to Children with Cancer UK and our vision of a world where every child survives cancer.  Most of all I thank Matt for your honesty, for your bravery and your kindness.  You never forget the people who do the right thing.

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