Book Description
With heart-rending honesty, in bittersweet moments as beautiful as they are difficult, yet with humor and optimism throughout, Annabel Clark's photographs and her mother Lynn Redgrave's journal entries illustrate a mother-daughter journey through the leading cause of cancer diagnosed in women today.
Average customer rating:
- Thought provoking
- Courageous Memoir
- A survivor , but not a believer in this...
- It's a great tool in overcomming the fear of breast cancer.
- Striking continuation of food-fest/allegorical galcommentary
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The Cancer Journal
Audre Lorde
Manufacturer: Aunt Lute Books
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Woman on the Edge of Time
ASIN: 1879960737 |
Amazon.com
First published in 1980, this new edition brings together posthumous tributes to Lorde from such writers and poets as Margaret Randall, Jewelle Gomez, and Barbara Smith, among others. The forthrightness and ferocity with which Audre Lorde greeted every social injustice is in full force in this courageous exploration of her breast cancer and mastectomy. Using the journal, memoir, and essay forms, Lorde gives voice to her "feelings and thoughts about the travesty of prosthesis, the pain of amputation, the function of cancer in a profit economy, confrontation with mortality, the strength of women loving, and the power and rewards of self-conscious living." Lorde powerfully weaves together the three literary forms, allowing her to leap from raw expressions of pain to her inimitably astute social observations.
Lorde began writing her journal entries six months after her radical mastectomy; they illustrate her process of integrating the crisis into her life, retelling her experience from detection to follow-up therapies. Lorde's most passionate battle was waged against silence. "This is it, Audre," Lorde wrote. "You're on your own." Where was the model? she asked, seeking another voice to speak to her experience. In The Cancer Journals, Audre Lorde has given us a rich, powerful model that is, alas, still relevant.
Book Description
"Grief, terror, courage, the passion for survival and for more than survival, are here in the searchings of a great poet."-Adrienne Rich
"This book teaches me that with one breast or none, I am still me."-Alice Walker
"The forthrightness and ferocity with which Audre Lorde greeted every social injustice is in full force in this courageous exploration."-Amazon.com
Moving between journal entry, memoir, and exposition, Audre Lorde fuses the personal and political as she reflects on her experience coping with breast cancer and a radical mastectomy. Includes photos and tributes to Lorde written after her death in 1992.
Customer Reviews:
Thought provoking.......2007-09-12
Audre Lorde gives a good idea of exactly what she's feeling in her journals, even down to the negative aspects of her disease that some would more than likely keep to themselves. I appreciate her frankness and willingness to open up to other women thinking the same things.
The thoughts bounced around a bit but overall I appreciate her putting her journey into words.
Courageous Memoir.......2006-11-10
Lorde's book will be of interest to those battling breast cancer and feminists, but also to anyone wanting to learn from a difficult experience. Lorde teaches us how to speak out against the injuustices done women, what it's like to survive in a hostile, male-chauvinist universe. Although the book is sad the wisdom it contains readily makes up for its difficcult content. Lorde's struggle is successful because she manages to rise above the difficulties caused by breast cancer--being one-breasted, for example--and overcome them. Her book is visionary.
A survivor , but not a believer in this..........2006-06-26
I think this is an important book for breast cancer survivors to read. It has made me think about a lot of things regarding my recovering.
However, I can't help but feel...how? Inferior? Shallow? Like a wimp? I can't even think of a word for it...for choosing to wear a prosthesis and for looking forward to my reconstruction. As if somehow, if I was a better woman or I was a better feminist or a braver survivor I could say, "Forget it!" and walk around the world proudly showing off my one-breasted-ness under my t-shirt.
This book is important because it's made me think hard about my post-cancer decisions. However, in the long run, I don't believe Lorde's opinions, experiences, and observations will be helpful for my continued survival.
If you have chosen to wear a prothesis or to get reconstruction, don't look to this book for affirmation, you will just get judgement, although Lorde opines that it is not her *intent* to judge.
I also think this book needs to be read in context of the time it was written. Breast cancer care has come a long way in the last 20 years. Lorde's belief that chemotherapy and radiation are in themselves carcinogenic may be true in the most extreme situation, in the most narrow sense, but nowadays the benefits by far outweigh the risks. Thousands upon thousands of survivors are around to attest to that.
Sadly, maybe I'm not feminist enough or woman enough to risk my life in order to make the personal political, to prove a point. In reading "The Cancer Journals", I found that Audre Lorde was. And even though it wasn't all doom and gloom, and despite her joyful exultation of the loving women that cared for her, at the end of the book I found it all a little too sad.
It's a great tool in overcomming the fear of breast cancer........1998-12-15
I cried through most of this book. Not out of pity for what Audre was going through, but simply because I have seldom seen anyone face such a crisis with such nobility and strength. On some level I think we all fear breast cancer. This book took the terror out of it for me and made me feel that if I were to end up with cancer that I would somehow come through it okay. Audre demonstrates that no matter how bad things get there is something to be learned and gained by the experience. She is a very inspiring and admirable women. She deals with the issue from both a practical, political, intellectual standpoint as well as an emotional one. I would recomend this book for anyone who has, or knows anyone with cancer, and for anyone who simply gets overwhelmed by the thought of someday getting breast cancer.She took on a tough and painful subject with the sensitivity and style of the poet she was , and gave us some wisdom to live by.
Striking continuation of food-fest/allegorical galcommentary.......1998-10-03
Following on the tremendously sensual roast-beef scene in Zami, Lourde here rejects beef after coming to terms with the oppressive white system that probably imposed hormone-ridden substandard products on people of colour. I think this is very brave. I'd like to propose that in memory of Lourde all self-respecting womyn reject mass-produced beef products. A great book. And very eye-opening.
Average customer rating:
- Nice to read someone else's story
- Worth reading if you know someone with a brain tumor.
- Can't Put It Down, Great Read
- Great book that helps you deal with personal tragedy
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Damn The Statistics, I Have a Life to Live!: Coping with a Brain Tumor My Personal Story
H. Charles Wolf
Manufacturer: 1st Books Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1410786226 |
Customer Reviews:
Nice to read someone else's story.......2007-08-23
This guy has quite a story to tell. It's nice to read a journal of an another brain tumor patient. Having a brain tumor myself, this book makes me realize how good my situation really is. His story is inspiring, and I really like his writing style. I read this book in one night.
Worth reading if you know someone with a brain tumor........2006-02-07
I read this book when my mother was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme IV. It was very quick and easy reading, which is good during a time like this. It tells what this guy experienced from the beginning symptoms, through surgery, and recovery. It helped to reaffirm that what the doctors were doing for my mom was the "standard" procedure for this type of cancer, and helped to familiarize me with the terminology that I was both hearing from the doctors as well as reading simultaneously in this book. Although people experience different symptoms from this cancer, much of it is the same. Because this guy was able to write about what he experienced, it helped me to understand more of what my mom was going through... with the loss of words and thoughts, inability to do simple everyday activities that we take for granted, the craniotomy, and treatments - radiation and chemo. I would recommend this book to anyone who is caring for someone with this tumor.. It's affordable, quick reading, and it will help give you more insight on what the patient is going through.
I would like to say that my mom has undergone 2 craniotomies, she is walking again, becoming easier to understand, and has the best attitude towards life. She's got too much to live for to let this little thing called "cancer" get in her way. :-)
Can't Put It Down, Great Read.......2004-02-11
If you know someone that has cancer, this book takes you through the first year covering awake craniotomy surgery, radiation therapy, chemo therapy, and others. There are a lot of pictures.
Great book that helps you deal with personal tragedy.......2003-10-26
If you or a loved one is dealing with a tumor or a cancer this is the book to help you get through it. It details the authors personal problems and medical problems. It is a real page turner and very informative. A recommended read for everyone!!!
Book Description
Discover the facts about—and personal stories of—gay men diagnosed with prostate cancer
According to the American Cancer Society, one man in six will develop prostate cancer in his lifetime, the second leading cause of cancer death in men. A Gay Man's Guide to Prostate Cancer explores the medical facts as well as the personal experiences of medical and mental health professionals and gay men from different walks of life. This insightful examination from the perspective of being gay in a predominantly heterosexual medical world emphasizes the unique concerns gay men have when confronted with this life-altering disease.
The status quo of the medical world is heterosexually assumptive. A Gay Man's Guide to Prostate Cancer shifts the perspective to gay men's needs, challenges, and experiences when faced with this critical health risk. The book is divided into a professional section that covers the medical and psychological aspects affecting gay men, and an experiential section in which gay men of varying ages, ethnicities, races, and HIV status describe their own very personal feelings and experiences regarding their diagnosis, treatment, and side-effects. A helpful glossary provided for the layperson explains the meanings of medical words and phrases.
A Gay Man's Guide to Prostate Cancer discusses:
the basics of prostate cancer—with an overview of causes, diagnosis, screening guidelines, and treatments
the history of prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment—and some unique concerns that gay men face when consulting a urologist and making treatment decisions
the practical questions regarding gay sex after treatment—with a matter-of-fact primer pertaining to what may happen during and what to do after treatment
the depression and anxiety that gay men will likely experience—with a look at the stigmatization and alienation that may occur in the heterosexually biased world
the dynamics and concerns of diagnosed gay men within the context of a self-help group—with topics that include gay identities, sexual behaviors and attitudes, feelings of helplessness, and HIV/AIDS considerations
how the surgical removal of one patient's prostate gland affected him emotionally—and physically
how a patient's diagnosis challenged his sexuality—and moved him to work at alerting other men of color to their increased risk of developing prostate cancer
a patient's sexual dysfunction following radical surgery—and why he formed a gay men's prostate cancer support group
how prostate cancer devastated one patient's sense of self and body image; and his experience of being unacceptable in a gay community that he views as consumed with youth and beauty
older gay men's thoughts when confronting prostate cancer—and how sex has evolved for them
the impact of cancer on couples' relationships—and the importance of being proactive about treatment
a 33-year-old man's struggle with prostate cancer—how it changed him and how it affected his relationship of 12 years
A Gay Man's Guide to Prostate Cancer fills the gap in the literature about gay men challenged with prostate cancer, making it vital reading for physicians, psychotherapists, gay men faced with positive diagnosis, and of course, friends and loved ones. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will go to MaleCare, Inc., a nonprofit organization that specifically serves men with various forms of cancer and organizes self-help groups specifically targeted to gay men with prostate cancer.
Customer Reviews:
Really helpful.......2005-08-29
This book is great and covers gay men and prostate cancer from all angles. It suppliments what I have already learned from the prostate cancer pages at http://www.malecare.com . I am a member of the gay prostate cancer support group organization and this book has my recomendation to you.
Amazon.com
At age nine, Lucy Grealy was diagnosed with a potentially terminal cancer. When she returned to school with a third of her jaw removed, she faced the cruel taunts of classmates. In this strikingly candid memoir, Grealy tells her story of great suffering and remarkable strength without sentimentality and with considerable wit. Vividly portraying the pain of peer rejection and the guilty pleasure of wanting to be special, Grealy captures with unique insight what it is like as a child and young adult to be torn between two warring impulses: to feel that more than anything else we want to be loved for who we are, while wishing desperately and secretly to be perfect
Book Description
The bestselling memoir by a woman who survived terminal illness only to confront the tragedy of being deemed unacceptable in a world that worships physical beauty.
Customer Reviews:
I thought this book was very touching.......2007-08-29
I had started this book and not gotten very far with it when I put it down to read something else. I am glad that I kept a hold of it because the next time I picked up I couldn't stop reading it. Very powerful memoir.
The Title of This Book Says It All.......2007-08-09
Our book group is reading Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett and decided to read Autobiography of a face as well, and I am glad we did. Lucy Grealy writes her painful story from age 9 and we are with her every step of the way through her many painful ordeals.
Lucy is a seemingly normal 9 year old child growing up in a disjointed and admittedly dysfunctional family. She is diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, a cancer with an alrmingly low survival rate. Although she has a twin sister, she rarely talks about her. You get the impression the family is not close, nor are they very supportive of one another. When her father is hospitalized for a serious illness, Lucy only goes to see him one time. Although the stay is extensive, they just stay at home, waiting for phone updates on their father's condition. Only her mother seems to make many appearances at the hospital where Lucy spends the majority of her pre-pubescent years.
Lucy Grealy is a person who is obssessed with her appearance. She talks about not really knowing who she is and what she looked like before her surgery, therefore, her post surgery appearance is the defining one for her. She is grossly disfugured, not only by the cancer and the resulting surgeries and treatments, but by the many surgeries performed in an attempt to repair the damage. Unfortunately, no clear thinking adult ever steps forward to get this poor child any kind of counseling or therapy, and she spends much of her life tortured by secret shame. She strives to be strong enough to make her mother proud, to be the model patient and to portray herself as a person who really doesn't care about her appearancence. Sadly, as most women know, this is not the case, especially in a society obsessed by appearances.
In my review of Truth and Beauty, I refer to the article Lucy Grealy's sister Suellen wrote in reaction the the publication of that book. My question to the Grealy family would be; where were all of you? I understand the family had many problems, but to be angry at Patchett and the other friends of Lucy's who were their for her when her own family wasn't seems misplaced. especially because the publication of this book precedes that of this book. And Lucy's own book is clearly an indictment of the disinterest of the Grealy family.
This is the life story of an extremely unhappy and disturbed person. She needed serious therapy to deal with her serious physical illness and all its side effects. Sadly, she was neglected in this way. Yes, through her writing and many of her relationships (some healthy, most not) she found a way in the world, but if you read Truth and Beauty and learn of the rest of her life through the eyes of a bystander, you see the personality that develops from the pain that was her early life. Well written and fast moving, this (Lucy's book) is a different kind of story than any other you will ever read. Brutally honest and excuciatingly sad, Lucy seemed to believe all she was was a face, and the only way to true happiness was to be loved and adored by a "lover." If only she was able to embrace herself as so much more than just a face, but a spirit that transcended what she looked like. If the title was Autobiography of a Soul, this would have been a different book, and this life may have had a different outcome...
AMAZING!!.......2007-07-13
You will never look at life the same way. And its so real and beautifully written. A must read.
Inspirational, indeed.......2007-07-04
Lucy's story, itself, is not only inspirational but it is also beautifully written...the language lyrical, quiet, insightful, touching...
It is so unfortunate that given Lucy's triumphs and accomplishments over her illness, she would be gone at such an early age, depriving us all of the lovely stories that could have been.
A great writer.
Painful and powerful.......2007-01-18
I read this book a while ago and it has stayed with me--always the sign of a good book. I wish this was a book that was given to all young girls especially. The idea that you are loveable, worthwhile and have so much to offer the world, no matter how you look is, sadly, a message that many never get. Even with all of the author's struggles to reach that place, the facts of her life show that she was never able to do it. Beautifully written.
Book Description
Cancer Survivor Sharon Parker Is on a Mission.
Sharon Parker thought she had a bad case of allergies. But as time went on, she felt instinctively that allergies were not the problem. Sharon asked for a chest x-ray. The x-ray results led to more tests and confirmed her worst fears. She had cancer. As if that news weren’t bad enough, Sharon soon learned that she had two separate cancers—Hodgkin’s Disease and thyroid cancer.
Determined to fight the diseases that threatened her life, Sharon sought out Dr. Andre Goy, internationally known hematologist oncologist at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Thanks to his expertise and treatment, she is alive.
Now, in her memoir, Look Out Cancer, Here I Come, Sharon Parker tells her own story of survival and draws from her experience to offer encouragement to others. Among the advice she shares:
• Follow your instincts to get more tests. People are misdiagnosed everyday.
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions of health professionals.
• During treatment, surround yourself with positive people.
• Focus on today and plan for tomorrow.
• Don’t underestimate the power of caregivers and those who offer help.
Today, Sharon’s mission is raising money for lymphoma research through her book and through the Life Lover Foundation, which she founded.
Average customer rating:
- My cancer support group LOVES this book!
- Cancer: A Serious Diagnosis - Writing Helps!
- Materializing Your Essense, and Recording Reality
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The Healing Way, A Journal for Cancer Survivors
Margie Davis
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin (T)
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1862046964 |
Book Description
This first-of-its-kind structured writing journal helps cancer patients and survivors write about their life-altering experience with cancer. From diagnosis through treatment and into the future, over 60 well-researched writing topics with supportive questions prompt both novice and experienced writers to examine important issues involved in having virtually any type of cancer.
In the back of the book is a Personal Resource Section, with space to record questions to ask doctors and their answers, test results, contact information for members of the treatment team, and treatment schedules.
The Healing Way is a perfect gift that shows concern and compassion and conveys best wishes for a speedy recovery.
A portion of the author's proceeds from the sale of each book will be donated to cancer patient support organizations.
Customer Reviews:
My cancer support group LOVES this book!.......2000-07-29
I bought The Healing Way and started writing in it. When I told my support group about it, they bought it, too. Even the men! At one of our two meetings each month we pick a topic and write then we talk about what we wrote. This author has a way of getting us to disclose what is very personal and what is very important. I recommend this book for anyone in a cancer support group, and especially for anyone who is going through this alone who doesn't have the support of a group.
Cancer: A Serious Diagnosis - Writing Helps!.......2000-05-28
The author evidences a surprising insight into the needs of cancer patients; especially the newly diagnosed individual, not the survivor. This journal is a must buy for self,friends or loved ones, as soon as news of a malignancy occurs. and physicians should give one to every patient!
Ms. Davis provides a short section on how to use the journal for peole who have not kept one before. Carefully, users are encouraged to seek psychological support because the act of writing may bring up deep, overpowering information, memories, feelings - its a great resource. This journal alone lets people know that it is okay to need, feel, hurt, and that additional support may be needed. The moment one hears the word:"malignant," life changes and new relationships begin that will continue for ever!
It is difficult to 'hear' what is being said, and being proactive at the same time is virtually impossible unless feelings, questions, dates, tests, results, and reactions are written down.
This is a book for the patient's advocate to help him/her with..a relative or friend. Today all we are hearing is that the patient must "Speak Up (Leape)," and protect themselves from negative hospital experiences. Anyone who's been diagnosed with cancer can tell you - its difficult to even remember the date, must less what is happening around you. That is why this is such a timely publication - it balances the current medical model moving the responsibility to the patient. It gives the patient a way to not only track their care, but have it in writing, and an added plus: learn more about oneself in the process, and even let physicians write instructions, phone numbers, etc. in the journal. The quotations are wonderful; encouraging. There is not too much space to write on, nor too little. And it is clear the author seems to be saying, "Just write . . . whatever you want to, but begin... on the healing way.
The journal is divided into topics gving the writer a gentle nudge, and all phases of this journey are included, even before one know what may be next, and the last section is to write in personal resources: questions to ask, test results, contcats, and dates.
It's hard, washable, spiral bound cover makes it easy to use all the time (instead of 10 steno notebooks like I did), and furthermore, Ms. Davis has her e-mail address on the last page for comments and I'm sure a tip or two on journaling! This is certainly a "Buy" in my opinion.
Materializing Your Essense, and Recording Reality.......2000-04-30
Do not be put off by the sub title, or Amazon's heading for the book as a way to survive cancer. This is an exceptionally well laid out journal. One's experience with cancer often takes place in an psychological tunnel - to take care of oneself only! Journaling with this book helps one to freely express feelings on paper, without judgement or what society expects: friend, family, etc. when emotional flooding often takes over, naturally, due to terror! The quotes on each section are inspiring, and the author's kind headings give direction and further permit one to just write - let it flow - even if one is emotionally taken from adulthood, to the sudden realization of being regressed, dependent, back to "childhood,' which for some was not a positive place to 'land.' "Writing and Mozart are healing," I've put on my own web site, and by that I mean one may be removed from the horrors of losing one's normal day, and landing in a dark wind tunnel - through journaling.
I'd definitely have preferred this journal than my 10 spiral notebooks! Make it a "Buy!"
Average customer rating:
- A model of courage
- Superb Work
- Hollis Sigler's Extraordinary Journal
- A Necessary Book
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Hollis Sigler's Breast Cancer Journal
Hollis Sigler
Manufacturer: Hudson Hills Press
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ASIN: 1555951759 |
Book Description
Hollis Sigler, a leading feminist artist, was diagnosed in 1985 with breast cancer. After it reacurred, she began a pictorial journal, now encompassing more than 100 works.
Customer Reviews:
A model of courage.......2006-03-24
I had a school assignment for reporting the life of a contemporary female artist, and while browsing through the National Museum of Women in the Arts' website I ran into Hollis Sigler's work. I was greatly impressed by her art and her courage. I purchased the book and it is a wonderful memorial to Sigler, who embraced her fate and empowered herself by raising awareness of this devastating disease. The vibrant images and sensitive introduction by the artist are worth the money. I highly recommend it.
Superb Work.......2002-04-15
Creating art work that passes on a political message, that is spawned in part from social awareness, is almost impossible to do well. Holly was always an artist first, and the paintings and drawings in this book testify that she broke the rules to become the exception--while rendering her rage over her breast cancer she transcended it to make a thoroughly beautiful body of work.
Hollis Sigler's Extraordinary Journal.......2000-03-05
Hollis Sigler has created a visual language, easily learned and powerfully understood, using images of a woman's everyday life to portray wildly varying emotions of a woman diagnosed with re-occurring cancer. "Hollis Sigler's Breast Cancer Journal" show's Hollis' own incredible strength in living and painting life to the fullest while concurrently fighting serious illness. Her drawings and paintings reflect the experiences of women living with breast cancer and those who care for them, while providing a means of immediate, almost organic emotional understanding to their families, neighbors, and friends. Hollis is brave, powerful, and very much attached to life. Her struggles are all of ours: through her art we learn to better understand ourselves. From 1994-1997 The Society for the Arts in Healthcare (SAH) sponsored with the National Museum of Women in the Arts a national tour to 24 hospitals of replicas, donated by Polaroid Corporation, of 14 Hollis Sigler drawings and painting about living with breast cancer, all of which now appear in "Hollis Sigler's Breast Cancer Journal." Hollis' powerful images provided a vehicle for patients and families, doctors and nurses, visitors, medical students and non-professional staff to consider breast cancer from a visually articulate patient's point of view. Kathy Miller of the Cancer Wellness Center in Northbrook, IL wrote at the time about the art and Hollis Sigler: "The art is thought-provoking for people of all ages and in all stages of health....Women have a lot in common -- her work says it all." Hollis Sigler's work is important, a series of visual statements with the same emotional validity as the writings of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross or the choreography of Bill T. Jones. I have shown some of Hollis' images which appear in this book during arts-in-healthcare talks to medical students in Ohio, patients in New York, and healthcare professionals in Japan. The images have always met with visual and emotional appreciation and immediate understanding from the audience. From the standpoint of this particular reader and member of the Arts in Healthcare movement, "Hollis Sigler's Breast Cancer Journal" is a Must Read!
A Necessary Book.......2000-02-24
This book is a success story, not in the sense of finding a tidy, happy resolution to a difficult biography, but of illuminating both the human capacity to act bravely and forcefully and the power of art to communicate about impossibly difficult things. "On the wall of deadly silence about the disease, I aimed to hang my Breast Cancer Journal. This work was an outcry." And it still is. Breast cancer is an immense epidemic, affecting more people than AIDS, yet it gets far less attention. It is just as complicated emotionally because of the way that death shadows it and the blows it deals to the literal form of femininity. Through her quirky, poignant, personal art, Sigler depicts a universal experience of how it feels to live with disfiguring disease, with loving others while ill oneself, with ignorance, with the trauma of treatments more drastic than the disease. She deals with the loneliness of illness and with the power of art to communicate, to create community, to produce social action. This is an instructive, inspiring and truly spiritual book.
Book Description
These letters and journals movingly chronicle Sharon's Christian walk with God and clear cell ovarian cancer during the last three years of her life.
Customer Reviews:
A Moving Legacy of a Vibrant Faith and Heroic Courage.......2007-04-10
James Calvin Schaap, in the book "In His Feathers" has masterfully captured the love for life, a faith in God, an appreciation for nature, and the fresh sense of humor of Sharon Bomgaars. Schaap has selected and compiled this compilation of Sharon Bomgaars' journals and correspondence. The book covers the period October 18, 1999 through September 28, 2002.
October 18, 1999 Sharon Bomgaars received the news that her body had been invaded by ovarian cancer. Sharon was given a 50/50 chance living another five years. Devastated but not defeated Sharon offered thanks for her 24 years of marriage and that she had been allowed to see her four children grow into adulthood.
Sharon's journals reveal her to be an amazing lady, a unique individual, and a devout worshiper of the God of the universe, the God of creation. Her life bears evidence of knowing the author of a redemptive plan that provides forgiveness for man's sinfulness. Throughout her letters and journals she maintains an absolute acceptance of God's sovereignty.
"In His Feathers" tells of Sharon's journey through the nearly four years of treatments, the discomfort, and the pain of ovarian cancer. Her writing chronicles her emotional and spiritual highs and lows. She gives tribute to her family and friends for their faithfulness in upholding her in prayer, and for their emotional, and physical support which helped her maintain a steadfast faith in a wise and loving God.
This is must reading for every woman diagnosed with ovarian cancer and for their family. It is a story of an amazing lady with a vibrant faith.
best ever.......2007-02-15
This was one of the most inspiring books I have ever read. What faith, what courage, what grace was so amazingly evident in Bomgaars journey of her dealing with cancer. It was a book that was easy to read and not easy to put down. Wonderful!!! Dotty Dirksen
"A marvel of a book".......2006-11-19
-- Written by Virginia Owens; Huntsville, Texas --
In His Feathers is a marvel of a book. Finally, a truthful book about
cancer and facing death as a Christian. What would any sufferer give to
have Sharon's spirit or her husband, Dennis. This is not a sentimental
or blind grasping for straws of faith on the edge of an abyss. Sharon is
smart, inquisitive, demanding, and endlessly inventive when it comes to
devising ways to spend her last months and days delighting in life. She
questions her doctors, makes her decisions firmly, and gets ready to go to
the final frontier - as we all should, whether well or terminally ill. She
grieves over the grandchildren she will never see (she's only 44 when her
ovarian cancer is diagnosed) and keeps up a steady stream of conversation
with God as they work out her future together. The end, when it comes, is
no less painful or grim, but neither Sharon or the faithful Dennis shrink
from the hard path they are called to. One can only hope to do as well at
the hour -- or last years -- of our death. My husband and I read this
together and I feel certain it has strengthened our devotion to one another
as we, two decades older than Sharon and Dennis, work on going with grace.
-- Virginia Owens
Lessons on life and death.......2006-10-25
Sharon's journals and letters take the reader with her into places that move from the ordinary to special and beautiful. Her honesty about the changes to her body and how her cancer affected relationships and attitudes goes far beyond any medical journal. Sharon has managed to teach us all to live well and die with dignity and courage. James Schaap has taken a sensitive subject and allowed us to glimpse the true feelings of a Christian who neither embraced nor feared death, but accepted it as part of the process of life.
Sharon Bomgaars life battle with cancer.......2006-10-06
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Sharon did a fantastic job telling all about her struggles and trails she went through in her battle with ovarian cancer. It was a joy to read and wonderful to read about her fantastic attitude. She was ready for Heaven and made the reader feel at peace about her going there. Her battle was long and hard fought and you felt like you were in it with her. I loved all the details of her travels and her love of nature!
Average customer rating:
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Living in the Lightning: A Cancer Journal
Natalie Robins
Manufacturer: RUTGERS UNIVERSITY PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0813526655 |
Customer Reviews:
Light Yet Meaningful.......2006-09-11
I read this book a few days after my doctor told me he was "very concerned" I may have a very rare and aggressive form of cancer. I found the easy style of the book was something I definitely needed while my mind was racing in a million directions. I loved that I could identify with the author on silly things like what to wear to my next doctor's appointment. The lightness yet meaningful style of the book helps in a time when so much is going on around you.
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