Before I Die

Before I Die is a young adult novel written by Jenny Downham, first published by David Fickling Books in 2007. The novel follows the shortly ending life of Tessa, from her perspective.

Plot

Tessa is diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Despite her four-year devotion to chemotherapy, she has discovered that her cancer is terminal and her doctors don't give her very long to live. Tessa, with the help of her best friend Zoey, comes up with a list of things she wants to do before she dies, including some risky behaviors that she deems necessary to have "lived". Zoey is excited and supportive of the outrageous bucket list until an unplanned pregnancy test comes up positive.

Tessa's parents are divorced and have very different views on her desire to experience the dangerous side of life before she passes. Her mother is loving and joking about the situation and seems supportive whereas her father is timid and just wants to spend time with his daughter. Tessa's dad is resistant to Tessa's behavior from the start but realizes he has little influence and can only enjoy the time they have left. Her father's main mechanism for coping is denial. She mentions that he spends hours on the computer looking up possible treatments for her even after the doctors have told her that the cancer has consumed her body.

Kirk Franklin

Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American gospel musician, choir director, and author. He is known for leading urban contemporary gospel choirs such as The Family, God's Property and One Nation Crew (1NC), and has won multiple awards, including seven Grammy Awards.

Early years

A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Franklin was raised by his aunt, Gertrude, having been abandoned as a baby by his mother. Gertrude collected and resold aluminum cans to raise money for Kirk to take piano lessons from the age of four. Kirk excelled in music, being able to read and write music, while also playing by ear.

He received his first contract offer at the age of seven, which his aunt turned down. He joined the church choir and became music director of the Mt. Rose Baptist Church adult choir at the age of twelve.

Despite his strict religious upbringing, Franklin rebelled in his teenage years, and in an attempt to keep him out of trouble, his grandmother arranged an audition for him at a professional youth conservatory associated with a local university. He was accepted and, while his life seemed to be on track for a while, the announcement of a girlfriend's pregnancy and his eventual expulsion from school for behavioral problems proved otherwise.

Marina Kaye

Marina Dalmas better known as Marina Kaye (born 9 February 1998 in Marseille, France) is a French singer, songwriter and composer. Most famous for the hit "Homeless", she has released the EP Homeless in 2014 and the album Fearless in 2015.

Career

On 14 December 2011, she won the sixth season of the French talent show La France a un incroyable talent, the French version of the Got Talent series when she was just 13. She sang "Rolling in the Deep" and "Set Fire to the Rain" from Adele and "Firework" from Katy Perry.

In 2012, she opened for the French musical comedy Adam et Ève: La Seconde Chance (mis en scène by Pascal Obispo). She also released a number of covers online and opened for Thirty Seconds to Mars at Palais des Festivals de Cannes and for Florent Pagny tour Vieillir Ensemble and in 2014 for 5 of Lindsey Stirling's concerts in France.

She gained significant recognition with "Homeless" taken from her similarly titled EP Homeless. The single topped the SNEP French official singles chart.

Papa Roach

Papa Roach is an American rock band from Vacaville, California. Formed in 1993, their first major-label release was the triple-platinum album Infest (2000). The group's success continued with their gold album Lovehatetragedy (2002), their platinum album Getting Away with Murder (2004), The Paramour Sessions (2006), Metamorphosis (2009), Time for Annihilation (2010), The Connection (2012), and F.E.A.R. (2015). Papa Roach has sold more than 20 million album copies worldwide and are known for their songs "Last Resort", "Between Angels and Insects", "She Loves Me Not", "Getting Away with Murder", "Scars", "Lifeline" and "Face Everything and Rise".

History

Early years (1993–1998)

The formation of Papa Roach began in January 1993, when lead singer Jacoby Shaddix and drummer Dave Buckner met on the Vacaville High School football field, where the two ended up talking about music. They were later joined by trombonist Ben Luther and bass guitarist Will James. They decided to enter the school's talent show, where they performed a version of Jimi Hendrix's song "Fire", but they ultimately did not win the contest. In March 1993, trombonist Ben Luther was replaced by lead guitarist Jerry Horton from nearby Vanden High School. Horton was introduced to the band through his girlfriend, who was a fan. However, Jerry was at first apprehensive about joining the band because Jacoby, Buckner, and Will all went to different high schools. At this point, Papa Roach were practicing every day and touring, playing every gig they could get. Their first tour van was called Moby Dick, where Jacoby was inspired to come up with his first stage name "Coby Dick". The band's name comes from Shaddix's step-grandfather, Howard William Roatch, who was nicknamed Papa Roach. Roatch committed suicide in 2006 after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The band pay homage to him with The Paramour Sessions and during live performances of the song "Roses On My Grave".