Ancient philosophers often stated that there can be no personal or spiritual growth without pain. Suffering and anguish, we are told, are the brutal conduits to enlightenment; they are the catalysts to inner-questioning, exploration, and ultimately, metamorphosis. Pain and suffering force us to face cold hard truths and help define our ethics.
I am no stranger to pain. As a filmmaker since 1990, I have documented thousands of individual medical nightmares. In truth, I have seen too much...and felt too much hurt. So the prospect of reading about another personal train wreck...another tale of tragedy and heartbreak made me wary. Within the opening pages of Sarah's Last Wish, however, Eve's Hillary's powerful writing immersed me into the world of 11-year old Sarah Westley, a young girl diagnosed with ovarian cancer. . .and there was no turning back.
Sarah's Last Wish is a transformative book, a passionate homage to millions of people harmed by conventional medical institutions. But is also a prayer to return freedom and humanity back to healthcare worldwide.
Sarah's Last Wish shares not only the pain, but the Light that was Sarah, whose childlike, if not Godlike wisdom haunts us with the reminder that the smallest voices can offer the most profound lessons.
As we debate how to create not only a better healthcare system, but a better world, Sarah's Last Wish offers lessons on how our medical systems must change if we are to ever truly reach societal enlightenment. It asks whether we are humane enough to hear the gracious wisdom of an 11-year old girl...and whether we are willing act to preserve all we hold dear about humanity itself.
Kevin P. Miller
Writer/Director
April 2011