Uplift
Secrets from the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors
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- $18.99
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
Bestselling author Barbara Delinsky, whose life has been shaped by her mother's breast cancer as well as her own, has created the book she wished had existed when she went through her treatment. Uplift is a one-of-a-kind collection of anecdotes and advice, told in the words of everyday women of all ages who are part of the ever-growing sisterhood of breast cancer survivors. You won't find medical advice or technical matters discussed here. But you will find all the little things that only someone who's been there can tell you about. What kind of deodorant can I use during radiation? Are there certain foods that really satisfy on treatment days? How do I address my surgery with my coworkers? Is it really okay to lean on my friends? How can I still feel feminine? Is there romance after breast cancer? What can I do to feel more in control of my body and my life?
But Uplift isn't only for those with breast cancer. Friends and family can read it to find out what they can best do to help. And men? Uplift contains quotes from them, too. They share what worked best and how they felt as they helped the women in their lives through it all.
Practical, warm, funny, reassuring, supportive, personal...the insights by the contributors to Uplift reveal how they faced their fears and came through their ordeal ready to get on with life and love, career and family -- and how you can too. If there is one book you'll want to keep close at hand as a nightstand support group, Uplift is it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Delinsky (A Woman's Place), a prolific popular novelist, lost her mother to breast cancer and is herself a survivor of the disease. This practical guide is a worthy addition to recent literature about how individual women deal with this illness, like Jennie Nash's The Victoria's Secret Catalog Never Stops Coming (reviewed above). Delinsky has collected a compendium of survival secrets "that have nothing to do with doctors, machines or drugs and everything to do with women helping women" that she wished had been available to her when she was diagnosed in 1994. She offers short personal anecdotes contributed by breast cancer survivors of every age and background. They recount the strategies that helped them through all aspects of cancer, including diagnosis, treatment, support groups and how to best conduct relationships with family, friends and in the workplace. Upbeat in tone, the women share such tips as the types of deodorants that may be used during radiation, how to handle hair loss ("I called my hair dresser and had the remainder of my hair buzzed off.... My buzzed head represented strength and control"), what foods will lessen nausea and, in general, how to take charge of one's life and remain positive. Almost everyone will find something in this varied advice that applies to her particular situation. Several women, for example, thought that hiring a professional to clean for them was extremely beneficial during draining treatments, while another found the mindless "therapy" involved in weeding the garden helpful. Delinsky also contributes several reminiscences, e.g., of her determination to remain physically strong and emotionally healthy after her diagnosis.
