‘Signs of Life’ is an extraordinary anthology, an astutely put together collection, that peels away the layers of health so we can see the complexity underneath. Disease, illness, decline, and deterioration; all these failings of the human body are at the heart of this selection of poignant and beautifully written stories. Seen through the eyes of these talented writers, what we end up with is not despair and hopelessness, but a visceral understanding of the fierceness of being alive and the love that forms the scaffold of how we care for one another. Michelle Johnston, author of ‘Dustfall.'In a Californian cafe, a music-lover develops psychosis while drinking green tea. In a Ghanaian paediatric ward, a doctor cares for a boy with kidney disease, while definitive treatments remain out of reach. In Melbourne a mother watches as her son resists being taken to respite care.This is not a book about death and dying. This is a book about life and how we live it. These stories reveal what is truly valued in this world, and speak to the ferocity with which we love.