Geof’s fourteen-year fight against brain cancer was not just about the disease. Promising therapies were continually roadblocked by lack of cooperation between institutions and researchers, insurance complications, and unreasonable restrictions on clinical trials. Governmental red tape was so confining that Geof, and those like him, were forced to look for treatments in foreign lands, just as his mother did in the trilogy. At times, these obstructions were all but insurmountable, and in many ways, are reflected in the challenges Geof faces in The Sceptre and The Secret City. The Bear’s courage and refusal to let brain cancer rule his life motivated his father, with Geof’s approval, to tell his story through enchanting adventures. Geof hoped to show other young people that deep within themselves, they too have the mental toughness to defeat the seemingly undefeatable.