By Juan Alvarado Valdivia
Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
Although this memoir is about the author’s struggle through a portion of his life after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, it is written with such candor that you will find it thought provoking. The author goes into detail with his thoughts, weaknesses, and struggle in dealing with this life and death situation. You can’t help but wonder what you would do in his place.
Mr. Valdivia takes you through the many ups and downs of having to go through this traumatic ordeal. He is very candid about his relationships with friends, his girlfriend, acquaintances, and his family that you feel you are right there at every step of the way. He discloses his emotions and behavior (sometimes good and sometimes not so good) in a way that you can relate to, but yet you want to say “no, don’t do that.” It’s as if you can see the outcome and you want to warn him that it’s not going to turn out good. But, that is a testament to a good memoir – he leaves nothing out.
I believe that the author’s intent when writing the book was multifaceted. First it was most probably healing to write his story as it happened. He accomplished that most assuredly. It appears that his second mission was to provide insight for people experiencing cancer and to show that this disease is manageable with some luck and persistence, difficult as it may be. Thirdly, it seems that he wanted to tell everyone that life after cancer can be fulfilling and he did this with conviction and sincerity. There are many books written on this topic, but this book is different in that he laid out his thoughts for the world to see and experience. He doesn’t hold back whatsoever!
The book is written in first person, which naturally gives the reader access into the author’s thinking, emotions, and feelings. It was an excellent strategy on the author’s part to ensure that his story was told with intimacy and intensity.
“So who would be interested in this type of book?” you ask. I would say that persons having been diagnosed with cancer are at the top of the list. This book not only provides insight to treatments, but it also gives patients a view of the emotional ups and downs that can occur when fighting this disease. It is also a great book for those persons that may have family members or friends experiencing this disease.
Overall I found the book was well written, informative, but most importantly revealing.
Source: Book was provided by author for review. It was reviewed by Corina Martinez Chaudhry.
