Photo: Eli Francis | Unsplash
When Emily Bhatnagar turned 16, her father was diagnosed with Stage 4 thyroid cancer. He was told he would only have a few days left to live. Whenever Bhatnagar was not busy with schoolwork, she cared for her father and helped her mother manage the family's Indian bread shop. The diagnosis would be end up be debilitating for the teenager. Bhatnagar developed depression, anxiety, and eating disorders to the point that she was hospitalized for months and had to miss school. During this time, Bhatnagar turned to books for solace, reading works from authors like Annie Barrow or Kierra Cass. After her father's cancer condition stabilized, she wanted to share that solace with other children who might face similar challenges. She started a book drive called "For Love and Buttercup" to collect and distribute books to healthcare centers. With the efforts of neighbors and supporters, the drive received over 7,000 books. And even more, her father ended up driving Bhatnagar and her mother personally to deliver over 2,000 of those books to the Children's National Hospital in D.C.
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