Living with Light: How Amanda Gunville Found Joy in the Hardest Season
Life rarely goes the way we plan. For Amanda Gunville, that truth became crystal clear the day she heard the words no one wants to hear: a diagnosis of breast cancer. In an instant, the world she had built around business, family, and community changed. The schedule that once revolved around boardrooms and brainstorming sessions was suddenly filled with doctor visits, test results, and treatment plans.
Yet, if you know anything about Amanda, it’s that she has always been about people first. From her early career working with professional athletes to later ventures in entrepreneurship and consulting, she has been driven by a belief that lifting others up is the greatest work anyone can do. She has shown up for colleagues, mentored others chasing their dreams, and built communities where people feel supported and encouraged. That foundation of care for others became her anchor when she herself needed strength.
Cancer has a way of changing everything. It strips life down to its essentials and forces a new perspective. For Amanda, the shift revealed how much healing could come not only from medicine but also from the intangible things—humor, honesty, and the small sparks of joy that can brighten even the most difficult day. Those moments became her lifeline. They reminded her that while cancer demanded attention, it didn’t get to steal everything.
It was during this season that Amanda began shaping what would become her book about dealing with cancer, Finding Hope & Joy in Cancer. Unlike a clinical manual or a step-by-step program, her book blends storytelling, encouragement, and humor in a way that feels like sitting down with a trusted friend. It’s part memoir, part guide, and part heartfelt pep talk, offering reminders that even in the storm, joy can still be found.
Her approach is refreshingly real. Rather than glossing over the pain or presenting an impossibly positive front, Amanda embraces the messiness of the journey. She acknowledges the fear, the exhaustion, and the long days in waiting rooms, but she also shines a light on the laughter that bubbles up in unexpected moments, the kindness of strangers, and the small victories that deserve to be celebrated. In doing so, she reframes what it means to live with cancer—not just as a patient enduring treatment, but as a person still capable of experiencing connection, humor, and hope.
What sets Amanda’s story apart is the way she has chosen to use her experience to help others. Finding Hope & Joy in Cancer is not just about her; it’s about creating a resource for anyone navigating serious illness, whether they are a patient themselves or a caregiver supporting a loved one. She knows firsthand how isolating and overwhelming the journey can feel, and she wanted to create something that would ease that weight.
Beyond the words on the page, her book carries an even larger purpose. Proceeds from every purchase go toward supporting women facing the hidden financial challenges of cancer—expenses that often fall outside the reach of insurance. Things like childcare, mortgage payments, and travel costs can quickly add up, placing an additional burden on women already carrying so much. By channeling the impact of her book into tangible support, Amanda extends her mission of lifting others into this most vulnerable space.
Her message is simple but powerful: strength does not always look like stoicism or perfection. Sometimes it looks like laughing at an awkward moment in the treatment room. Sometimes it looks like allowing yourself to cry and then finding the energy to try again tomorrow. And sometimes it looks like choosing to notice joy, even when circumstances feel impossibly heavy.
Amanda’s own path reflects this balance. She did not choose cancer, but she chose how to respond to it. She leaned on community, found comfort in humor, and kept her heart open to the possibility of joy even in the darkest days. That openness not only helped her endure but also inspired her to share her journey so others could feel less alone.
In many ways, her story comes full circle. She has always been someone who invests in people, who believes in the importance of lifting others up and reminding them of their worth. Through her cancer experience, she has taken that belief to an even deeper level, offering not only encouragement but also practical help to women who need it most.
Finding Hope & Joy in Cancer is more than a book—it’s a reminder that life, even when interrupted by illness, can still hold laughter, connection, and meaning. It’s an invitation to notice joy in the smallest places, to hold onto hope when it feels fragile, and to believe that even in the hardest chapters, thriving is still possible.
Amanda Gunville’s journey is one of resilience, but not the kind that relies on never faltering. Instead, it is about showing up each day, however imperfectly, and continuing to look for the light. It’s about redefining what it means to live fully, even when circumstances are beyond control. And it’s about offering others the same encouragement she once needed: that joy has a way of showing up, even in the moments you least expect it.