This new English book chronicles Soraya's incredibly interesting life.   Artist royalties go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure so the more we sell the more good we do. Please pass the word.

 Here is the story behind these memoirs, as we posted it on Amazon.com...there's a lot of stuff in here fans might enjoy reading...

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Soraya, born in New Jersey to Colombian parents, was a U.S.-educated young woman with incredible music talent. Discovered by PolyGram Records while flying for United Airlines, she was the first artist to release simultaneous albums in both English and Spanish, and as a result, her music was promoted worldwide. She became a major star throughout Latin America and in Germany, Spain, Australia and Puerto Rico, and due to a couple of #1 hits the U.S., was reasonably well-known to Latin music fans in the states.

 In 2000, at age 31, after two successful albums and just as her third masterpiece was being released, she was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer. Being the daughter, niece and granddaughter of three women who had died from the disease, she was unfortunately all too aware of what her future might hold. But as she writes in this memoir, instead of sinking into self-pity she "found the woman I never thought I could be." She went public with the news of her breast cancer one of the first times a prominent Hispanic-American woman had done so. And she had much to say.

 Soraya knew that a tradition of silence surrounded breast cancer in the Latina culture, and as a result, Hispanic women have a higher breast cancer mortality rate than Anglo women. Still, she needed to heal herself before she could do much about changing that.

 In 2003, after a year of treatments and recuperation, and after another year writing and recording, she released the self-titled Soraya, her fourth album, and her mission picked up speed. Her musical fame allowed her to put the spotlight on breast cancer awareness and early detection for underserved women. She littered the press with her messages in an effort to knock down long-standing cultural barriers. And as she found her voice, she also grew into a set of gratifying concepts for living "a life full of life," no matter whether we have five years or fifty left to go.

 Those years after her cancer diagnosis were filled with incredible moments of revelation and joy. By the end of 2004, Soraya was back on top. She had won a Grammy, performed on international award shows, sold out her own concerts, and was all over the magazine covers. But most important to her, she had clear evidence that speaking out was making a difference. We saw it for ourselves... she was inspiring both people and change.

 Always smiling, she was a radiant example of life. She put out her fifth album in 2005, and as she pulled into places like Puerto Rico, Chile, Argentina and Colombia to promote it, crowds would greet her by singing her latest hit at the top of their lungs.

 But unbeknownst to almost everyone, the cancer had returned with a vengeance. Soraya's life was quietly changing. Still, she didn't go home. She planned carefully, and spent the last full year of her life relentlessly criss-crossing the U.S. and Latin America, promoting her mission and her music with a sense of urgency. But as she performed and lent her voice to many great people who are doing great things to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease, Soraya was very, very ill. In the book, she explains why she kept her condition quiet this time.

 In November 2005, she finally decided it was time to go home, enjoy her family and friends, and pursue the most aggressive treatments available. She was confident she would knock the cancer back into remission. That's when she resumed writing about her incredible journey, picking up a book she had begun writing some time ago. Her thought was that publishing would be her best way of getting her messages out during a time when she was less comfortable traveling.

 She wrote through the spring of 2006, asking people closest to her for their thoughts along the way. At her marketing company, we knew there was a book coming but we had no idea what it would say.

 About 10 days before her death, Soraya finally agreed to give us her manuscript. She was a perfectionist who didn't believe she was done not with the book, and not with her life. But we were anxious to figure out what kind of product we'd be editing and promoting, and we were pushing to take a look. We were blissfully oblivious to the idea that time might be an issue for Soraya; she had kept the severity of her illness from everyone but her manager and her innermost circle.

 It was only through reading the manuscript that we found out just how ill she was. As we turned the pages we saw our friend coming to terms with her own mortality, and that was incredibly difficult to read. And yet we were as amazed by her as we always were, because even while facing the most difficult circumstances imaginable, she was finding a way to wring the most out of every drop of life.

 Soraya stayed true to her original intentions in writing the book. She shares her thoughts on how to live life joyously and to the fullest; on how to live with hope and possibility no matter the circumstance. But Soraya didn't intend the book to end how it does. Therefore, even though this memoir leaves the reader with a much greater sense of triumph than of sadness, it may not be appropriate for some.

 Soraya left us on May 10, 2006. Getting this book published and funding more educational programs with its proceeds was her final wish. Editing her manuscript became a labor of love for our company, and we were very pleased when major Latin American publisher, Grupo Editorial Norma out of Colombia, quickly stepped forward and offered to publish the book in Spanish in time for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, October. Con Las Cuerdas Rotas (Broken Strings) has since gone to its third printing and has broken records for Spanish-language books.

 Soon, we were invited by our friends at Yoplait (the Save Lids to Save Lives people) to present Soraya's book to American publisher John Wiley & Sons. They advised that a satisfying memoir for the American audience would need an extra 100 pages or so. The solution was to add three memories sections (The Roots, The Rise, The Race) featuring 80 personal photos, accompanied by stories from Soraya's friends, families, and fellow musicians. It's through this alternate view of Soraya's life story that we learn what our humble friend would never say herself: in the final years of her life, she had become a worldclass humanitarian with an eye-opening philosophical take on life. And, she was one hell of a musician.

 This book is an inspiring story of achievement that will leave you asking yourself what more you can do with the one life you have. As Soraya wrote, "We all have limited time on earth. Choosing to do the right things with that time is what determines whether we're happy or not."

 We hope that "Soraya, A Lifetime of Music, A Legacy of Hope" inspires you, whether you're healthy and thriving or struggling to get through a difficult time.

 Signed,

 Alison Glander Provost

 CEO of PowerPact, Soraya's marketing company

 and editor of her memoirs

 In partnership with Joyce Fleming, Soraya's manager