On Monday, the 17th of September, 2013, novelist and poet Mike Johnson entered Auckland Central Hospital for some abdominal tests, and was diagnosed with multiple cancers. Nine days later he was discharged with no discernable cancers. This is the story of what happened during those nine days, and the days that followed: the tests, the diagnoses, the mystery, the terror and the healing. Too weak to write, Johnson dictated this book from handwritten notes. A report from experience, an investigation, a compelling narrative, The Angel of Compassion raises the most fundamental issues of body, mind and spirit. Shortlisted for the $10, 000 Ashton Wylie Award, 2014.