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Hoping For More: having cancer, talking faith, and accepting grace
"We tend to use words like miracle and mystery in the context of serendipity. In this frank and eloquent account of life transformed by cancer, Deanna Thompson explores these articles of faith as they are also wont to appear--on the hard edges of hope and the dark side of joy" --Krista Tippett, from the Foreword Hoping for More is a story of a young religion professor with a stage IV cancer diagnosis and a lousy prognosis for the future. Amid the grief and the grace of her fractured life, this theologian--who is also a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend--searches for words adequate to express her faltering faith. More Anne Lamott meets Harold Kushner than the teller of a pious, God-saved-me-from-cancer tale, Thompson unpacks the messy realities that arise when faith and suffering collide. Told in shimmering prose, Hoping for More takes readers on an unsentimental journey through the valley of the shadow of cancer--beyond the predictable parameters of prayer, the church, even belief in life after death. What emerges is a novel approach to talking faith and accepting grace when hope is all you've got.
148 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 18, 2024
would rate 3.5 as i read it for my theology class & need to meet my reading goal for the year lol. her account was more profound and packed quite a punch in 150 pages. I appreciated the author’s authenticity & realness of her cancer journey and how it impacted her faith.
April 28, 2015
I have lived a healthy life. Never a hospital visit or surgery. I expect the day will come when my record of healthiness is broken, but I count myself fortunate. What if one is in the prime of life -- early 40s -- and an aching back leads to the diagnosis of stage 4 metastatic breast cancer that has moved into one's spine? What if you receive this news and you are wife and mother of two children? The prognosis is that death is likely to be in your near future. How do you live with such news?
Deanna Thompson shares her story from a "perfect" life through diagnosis, treatment, and into remission. Since her cancer was stage 4 and moved into her spine, she cannot ever claim to be cured. Remission yes, but cure no. But in the midst of this seeming tragic turn of events Deanna experiences God's grace through the efficacy of the treatments she is given, the support of her family, friends, colleagues, and church. This is the story of a woman's battle with cancer, but it is also the story of the blessings that come when communities step up and surround a person with love and support.
Deanna wrote this book while in remission. She is now in her third remission, which means that the cancer has reared its head twice since the manuscript went to the publisher. The title is important -- Hoping for More -- for Deanna speaks as a theologian going through a traumatic set of experiences of hope for this life and the next. Many liberals/progressives want us to focus on the present-- on the presence of God in this life -- seeing attention given to the afterlife/heaven as a distraction. Deanna's experience has given her a different take on this question.
She writes:
This is a beautifully written book. Once you pick it up you will want to keep reading. It's not in a voyeuristic manner -- but once you begin you want to hear a word of hope and healing. Deanna is a gifted writer who has been able to tell her story in a compelling manner. She doesn't see cancer is a gift. She doesn't believe this has happened for a reason. She wants more life to live. At the same time she knows that death is a constant companion. So far she remains healthy -- in remission -- but her hope is placed in God for this life and for the next.
Take and read -- you will be blessed and encouraged.
Deanna Thompson shares her story from a "perfect" life through diagnosis, treatment, and into remission. Since her cancer was stage 4 and moved into her spine, she cannot ever claim to be cured. Remission yes, but cure no. But in the midst of this seeming tragic turn of events Deanna experiences God's grace through the efficacy of the treatments she is given, the support of her family, friends, colleagues, and church. This is the story of a woman's battle with cancer, but it is also the story of the blessings that come when communities step up and surround a person with love and support.
Deanna wrote this book while in remission. She is now in her third remission, which means that the cancer has reared its head twice since the manuscript went to the publisher. The title is important -- Hoping for More -- for Deanna speaks as a theologian going through a traumatic set of experiences of hope for this life and the next. Many liberals/progressives want us to focus on the present-- on the presence of God in this life -- seeing attention given to the afterlife/heaven as a distraction. Deanna's experience has given her a different take on this question.
She writes:
And I wonder whether those of us who talk about God for a living do a disservice to the God of the Bible and to those who suffer when we limit our discussion to the present. After all, the Bible is full of promises of life with God not only in the here and now but also in life beyond the grave. For all of us who struggle to trust in these promises—even in the midst of death-dealing conditions—hearing that there’s more than just this terminal diagnosis or that life-shattering earthquake offers a word of hope. That the suffering of this world isn’t the final word is an essential part of the gospel’s good news.
[Thompson, Deanna A. (2012-05-01). Hoping for More: Having Cancer, Talking Faith, and Accepting Grace (p. 145). Cascade Books, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition.]
This is a beautifully written book. Once you pick it up you will want to keep reading. It's not in a voyeuristic manner -- but once you begin you want to hear a word of hope and healing. Deanna is a gifted writer who has been able to tell her story in a compelling manner. She doesn't see cancer is a gift. She doesn't believe this has happened for a reason. She wants more life to live. At the same time she knows that death is a constant companion. So far she remains healthy -- in remission -- but her hope is placed in God for this life and for the next.
Take and read -- you will be blessed and encouraged.
August 31, 2012
Easy read, hard to put down. Tells the truth about her experience and her wrestling with prayer, with facing death by cancer, with the things people say.
Not poetic, no "deathless" prose, yet worth reading more than once. A theology professor, the author reflects her Christian faith amidst a terminal diagnosis: how it is to put your life down and pick it up again; how to deal with a certainly uncertain life; and how the rest of us can support this journey.
Share with people who have extended/chronic illnesses and have to deal like this author does with the Christian platitudes of friends and family, as well as their own deep questions of faith.
Not poetic, no "deathless" prose, yet worth reading more than once. A theology professor, the author reflects her Christian faith amidst a terminal diagnosis: how it is to put your life down and pick it up again; how to deal with a certainly uncertain life; and how the rest of us can support this journey.
Share with people who have extended/chronic illnesses and have to deal like this author does with the Christian platitudes of friends and family, as well as their own deep questions of faith.
August 6, 2013
I thoroughly enjoyed Deanna's book. She holds in tender balance the deep and ongoing struggle of cancer with the challenges (and blessings) of faith in a life in "cancer-world". She tells her story of tests, illness, fear, and the small victories along the way without sugary sentimentality. I often found myself thinking "Oh, that must have been similar to what _______ went through with her cancer" and was grateful for that insight. I may have been a bit biased in my reading of the book as I had the blessing of meeting Deanna recently and hearing some of her story in a more personal way. Even so, this is an excellent read - I highly recommend it.
September 11, 2012
Wise and understated, the author tells her experience as a Stage IV cancer survivor. Full of real experience, theological musings, honest wrestling.
I love the last chapter, about the paradox in Christian faith talking about living in the present, but having a very real and eschatological hope for the future. It's true that we have often emphasized one at the expense of the other, but she really lifts up the necessity of both.
As well, her chapter on the things people say when you have cancer was real and not sugar-coated.
I love the last chapter, about the paradox in Christian faith talking about living in the present, but having a very real and eschatological hope for the future. It's true that we have often emphasized one at the expense of the other, but she really lifts up the necessity of both.
As well, her chapter on the things people say when you have cancer was real and not sugar-coated.
October 23, 2012
Deanna, a mother of small children and a professor of theology was striken with what could easily be fatal cancer. Her account of the journey through her diagnosis and treatment, combined with deep, painfully honest theological reflection, are a must read for anyone struggling with these issues or working with people who are.
December 29, 2015
My former neighbor in St Paul. Beautifully written.
April 24, 2022
A beautifully thoughtfully written book. I cried at several points- her suffering, her family’s suffering. I was amazed at just how much support - physical and emotional- she has. Beautiful and amazing. I felt hope in the final chapters. So honest in her telling and in her faith discussion.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews