- December 4, 2025
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One Christmas Eve, Karen MacDonald thought of a gift she could offer her mother, Theresa MacDonald, who was in the hospital due to Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and nearing the end of her life.
She created a makeshift wrap to go over her mother’s patient gown and provided blush and lipstick.
“I saw the difference it made, that she kind of came to life again, and for a couple of hours, just felt like the rest of us,” she said.
That was how MacDonald realized she wanted to found a clothing line that could bring other cancer patients that same dignity, and about 10 years ago, she established Wrapped in Love.
Now a part-time Siesta Key resident, MacDonald is also involved with the Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation, to which she recently brought forward an idea: to screen a new film that tells the story of an individual she had long admired.
On Oct. 1, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the foundation will host the Sarasota premiere of “Hello Beautiful,” which is based on the 2016 book “Walk Beside Me” by former Victoria’s Secret model and breast cancer survivor Christine Handy.
The film tells the story of a model named Willow whose world is shattered when she is diagnosed with breast cancer, though she ultimately survives.
“When I was going through breast cancer, I watched movies over and over and over again that I felt like gave me hope,” explains Handy, who serves as a producer and began seeking the chance to turn the book into a film eight years ago.
Handy said she wanted to offer a story of survival, as many of the films she saw only made her more afraid.
“I kind of had righteous anger about that,” she said. “I thought that was an injustice, and I was surprised that nobody had changed that narrative, because obviously the survival rates have gone up so much, and I just feel like maybe that hasn't caught up in media.”
Once production began, with director Ziad Hamzeh on board, the team had to weather events like COVID-19, the Writer’s Guild of America strike and the SAG-AFTRA strike.
“It went through tremendous hurdles,” Handy said. “I feel like it's just this incredible project that if, let's say we had filmed it in 2020, it wouldn't be what it is today. It's so much better.”
Handy says the film is also a lesson in what not to do; the film portrays the life she lived prior to her diagnosis, which she describes as focused on materialism, with a constant focus on finding the next modeling opportunity.
“Ultimately, everything that I had built my life on, or built my self-esteem on, it was like quicksand for me,” she said.
When Handy had to depend on others to take care of her, she lost her pride and ego. Her battle with cancer would involve 15 months of chemotherapy, mastectomies, implants and reconstructive surgeries.
“I just knew in those dark moments that I had to rebuild my life on a more solid ground, and it couldn't be anything else outside of me. It had to be who I was inside,” she said.
Handy praised the creative liberties of the film, and also notes a film does not have room to cover her full history, including when a MRSA infection required the excavation of her implants in 2020, which she said shattered her world all over again, on a new level.
After that, Handy decided to return to modeling work, with the goal of showcasing the beauty of women with concave chests. That included returning to Victoria's Secret, and walking the Miami Swim Week swimwear event.
When MacDonald learned the book was being made into a film, she decided to reach out to Handy.
“I just admired her so much,” MacDonald said. “I think she's giving other people their dignity by going out there and talking about what she's been through and how it's actually made her a stronger person.”
MacDonald served as a small sponsor of the premiere and also provided inspirational socks featuring the words “Hello Beautiful,” which she says the audience members decided to wear for the film.
She will also be offering a small sponsorship, and her socks, in Sarasota.
The Sarasta premiere of the film, which will take place at CMX CinéBistro Siesta Key, will feature a Q&A session with Handy.
