“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.” — Albert Camus
When journalist and newly elected mayor Julie Akins was diagnosed with a systemic cancer—a diagnosis often considered a death sentence—she found herself facing the possible end of her life just as her husband, Leo, was struggling to survive a devastating stroke. In the quiet, desperate hours of the night, she began to write.
Pushing Back is a collection of deeply personal letters born from a time of extreme intensity. Written in the shadows of a global pandemic, a catastrophic wildfire, and the weight of public service, these letters served as a "map-less map" for a journey through questioning, despair, and eventually, peace.
“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.” — Albert Camus
When journalist and newly elected mayor Julie Akins was diagnosed with a systemic cancer—a diagnosis often considered a death sentence—she found herself facing the possible end of her life just as her husband, Leo, was struggling to survive a devastating stroke. In the quiet, desperate hours of the night, she began to write.
Pushing Back is a collection of deeply personal letters born from a time of extreme intensity. Written in the shadows of a global pandemic, a catastrophic wildfire, and the weight of public service, these letters served as a "map-less map" for a journey through questioning, despair, and eventually, peace.
Julie Akins is a career journalist and the former Mayor of Ashland, Oregon. She wrote these letters as a way of expressing who she was for her children and grandchildren, uncovering a path from suffering to an "invincible summer".
Genre: NONFICTION
ISBN:978-1-969421-16-7
Publication: SEPTEMBER 22, 2026
