Rootlines: A Memoir

Rikki and her sister, Linda, fell out with one another four months ago.
They are not speaking when Linda emails that she has lethal abdominal
tumors, that her only hope of survival is a total bone marrow
replacement. Linda claims Rikki is too old to donate, and explains
there's only a slight chance she is a good match anyway--but Rikki
refuses to accept that. Despite the wounding between them, Linda's email
ignites a wild aspiration in her sister: she will become the perfect
donor, the perfect match, with the healthiest, most vigorous cells
possible. She rises with intent to heal herself, her sister, and their
rootlines, the patterns formed in their family of origin that have
quietly shaped their lives.

Rikki walks through the science while confronting dogma that limits how
mind can transform body. She builds herself into a stem cell factory
using Muay Thai kickboxing and vegetarian nutrition. Working through
childhood wounds and mental limits with meditation and yoga, she finds
her own power, as well as ways to show up for Linda and walk with her
from the edge of death to a new life. Together, the two sisters beat the
lymphoma--and, as they rediscover the intimacy and love of their
innocent childhood, heal the intertwined roots of their family pain.