Traci Frantz's first book is both a tribute to her late daughter, Tiffany Frantz McGhee, and a cautionary tale, warning of the dangers of carrying a cell phone on your body.

Traci, a Quarryville native, penned "With Courage and Grace" and self-published through Amazon in March. The book is available on Amazon in hardbound, paperback, and ebook.

Tiffany was diagnosed with breast cancer on Jan. 4, 2012, and succumbed to her illness on Aug. 28, 2021, after bravely battling it for nearly a decade. While Tiffany was sick, Traci updated her condition on CaringBridge. "I was getting questions from family and friends how Tiffany was doing," Traci said. "Instead of having to repeat it a thousand times, I just decided to set up a CaringBridge journal, and then that way, everybody would be able to access that and read what happened that day."

The CaringBridge updates became Traci's notes for the book. "I said in the journal entries that one day I should put this into a book," she said. "Then I thought I can't do it yet, because I don't know what the outcome is going to be. It wasn't until after she passed that I got serious about thinking about it. Then it was about three and a half years until I could actually mentally, emotionally, and psychologically begin that process of doing it. I started at the beginning of this year, putting everything together and editing it myself."

Seeking an editor, Traci was introduced to Shawn Smucker through a friend whose dad had written a book. "Shawn was instrumental in helping me get this published, because I had no idea where to start. I've never done anything like that."

Traci stated that "With Courage and Grace" is important because it's "both educational and a leisure read."

Traci noted that Tiffany kept her cell phone in her bra for about 12 hours a day for five years. Traci believes that's what caused Tiffany's cancer. "That's where her tumor was, directly under where she stored her cell phone," Traci said. "She had gone through the genetic testing, and there was absolutely no genetics involved in her cancer. My husband (Bob) and I just said it has to be the cell phone. I did some research on the technology of cell phones, and said this has to be because of electromagnetic radiation, the heat. It destroys cells. And when your cells are damaged, that causes cancer. I ended up starting to be a little bit more vocal about the dangers of cell phones and storing them on your body." The family has appeared on various media outlets, including Dr. Oz and Inside Edition.

Traci hopes young people will heed her warning. "The people that get the most out of it, that should be reading it, are older teenagers and young adults," she said. "I've had a few cancer patients that have read it and said it was just absolutely amazing. It helped them through their cancer treatments, knowing that what they were feeling or experiencing was not abnormal, that they were normal. I think that that's extremely helpful."

"With Courage and Grace" is also a way to honor Tiffany. "Tiffany was an amazing, amazing person," said Traci. "She was a hard worker. She worked through every single one of her treatments, very rarely skipped a day of work, even with side effects. She handled it with humor. She was so funny. Sometimes she meant to be, and sometimes it just happened, but she was an amazingly funny person. Everybody admired her. She never complained in public, and she always had a smile. She was such an inspiration to people. She never wanted anybody to pity her. That was the last thing she wanted. She didn't want anybody to treat her any differently because of her cancer."

The book is also for those with an ill loved one. "I wrote it as more of a book for caretakers or for those who just need to read about somebody else going through the same thing, because they're not alone in their journey," Traci said. "There are so many takeaways. I've had so many people say what they have gotten out of the book, and you can take away so many different things, depending on what you're going through at the time, what you have been through, what you're seeing someone else go through."

In commemoration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Traci will hold a book signing on Saturday, Oct. 18, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Frogtown Cafe, 684 Marticville Road, Pequea. Traci suggests that books are pre-purchased through Amazon and brought to the signing. A limited number of paperback and hardbound books will be available for purchase at the signings via cash or Venmo.  Anyone interested in hosting a book signing can contact Traci at frantzfamily3@gmail.com.