In 2011, John, a former infantry noncommissioned officer (NCO) and coach was diagnosed with Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare skin cancer that affects about 1,500 people in the United States each year. It grows quickly and often metastasizes at early stages of the disease, spreading to nearby lymph nodes and then distant parts of the body such as the lungs, brain and bones. Since John's disease was so advanced, he was told his chances of beating it were grim. "I gathered that ... being 'incurable' meant I was going to die." Exactly five years and one day after John was diagnosed with the disease, the excerpt above was published at the City of Hope's blog in an article about him. The reason for it: he survived. Just a few weeks before the article was published, he was declared cured. The cure, his doctor said, was the result of his attitude. He said it was positive. The Light at the End of the Day is the story about how, over five years, John developed and sustained that "positive" attitude.