The biggest struggle a writer faces, aside from writer's block, is the countdown to a deadline.

In one reporter's case, the deadline fast approaching is not just another story. It is THE story, specifically, the story of how she learned of her impending death and faced it head on.

The Associated Press reports that booksellers around the world are preparing to stock the story of a Florida woman battling Lou Gherig's disease.

Former Palm Beach Post reporter Susan Spencer-Wendel's book, "Until I Say Goodbye," hits bookshelves Tuesday.

It's an account of her diagnosis and the year that followed, in which she took trips she long had hoped to take and prepared to say goodbye to her loved ones.

Harper Collins inked a $2.3 million deal for the book, and Universal Pictures followed with a seven-figure deal of its own for the film rights.

Forty-six-year-old Spencer-Wendel says she hopes her book will inspire readers to make a conscious effort to live joyously.

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