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Every Breath Is a Gift: Reflections on My Leukemia Journey
With one phone call, author Erin Michaela Sweeney’s life changes forever. She becomes a terminal cancer patient.
This memoir recounts the harrowing months after diagnosis during which Sweeney endures eight- to ten-day chemotherapy rounds administered during hospital stays in the hope of getting into remission. If she makes it that far, then it is a race to find a donor who matches her profile. Will she receive a life-saving marrow transplant in time? And will she live long enough to see her son, Eliott, learn to walk, begin to talk, and have his second birthday?
The author’s blog posts about treatments, therapies, and home life are uniquely matched with reflective essays culminating in the truth that Every Breath Is a Gift.
If you or a loved one faces leukemia or a marrow transplant (or both), this volume will bring comfort through sometimes humorous, sometimes piercing reflections about one woman’s cancer journey.
For each book sold, it’s still good to be alive press will donate $1 profit to Be the Match, operated by the National Marrow Donor Program, a nonprofit dedicated to helping every patient get the life-saving marrow transplant he or she needs.
This memoir recounts the harrowing months after diagnosis during which Sweeney endures eight- to ten-day chemotherapy rounds administered during hospital stays in the hope of getting into remission. If she makes it that far, then it is a race to find a donor who matches her profile. Will she receive a life-saving marrow transplant in time? And will she live long enough to see her son, Eliott, learn to walk, begin to talk, and have his second birthday?
The author’s blog posts about treatments, therapies, and home life are uniquely matched with reflective essays culminating in the truth that Every Breath Is a Gift.
If you or a loved one faces leukemia or a marrow transplant (or both), this volume will bring comfort through sometimes humorous, sometimes piercing reflections about one woman’s cancer journey.
For each book sold, it’s still good to be alive press will donate $1 profit to Be the Match, operated by the National Marrow Donor Program, a nonprofit dedicated to helping every patient get the life-saving marrow transplant he or she needs.
118 pages, Paperback
First published August 5, 2015
2 people want to read
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September 19, 2015
Erin’s life changes dramatically with one phone call. From being a healthy woman, a happy wife and a proud mom, she finds herself in a position where being “terminally ill” determines much of everything for her. Every breath is a gift is a collection of her journal entries during the roughest patch of her life. It is a memoir which speaks of her courage, fortitude and her faith in the amazing power of hope.
The worth of books such as this one cannot be judged by ratings. So, the rating is just for obligatory purposes. This is the first time I’ve read a memoir of this kind and I was moved beyond words. We read a great deal about cancer in works of fiction and watch movies where the ailment is brought under focus. However, we can never understand the tremendous hardships of this malady unless we come across real life accounts. Erin’s journal entries show us glimpses of the emotions she felt and the struggles she went through right from the moment of her diagnosis with leukemia. She has braved many challenges and overcome great odds to reach this point in her life when she is able to reflect on the crisis that redefined everything. She makes us realize how important it is to never give up on hope. As she mentions frequently in her memoir, we often take many things for granted. To some people, little things mean the world—the very things whose worth we never understand. Erin’s memoir is one of those books that make us conscious about the gifts we have in life, the greatest of them all—the ability to breathe. Yes, indeed, every breath is a gift. Erin’s battle with cancer shows the harsh realities and the will to look beyond it. This book can provide hope to people who fight new battles everyday and go through the turmoil of a grueling illness. It is also a reminder of the value of human bonding which acts as a catalyst in the healing process.
The worth of books such as this one cannot be judged by ratings. So, the rating is just for obligatory purposes. This is the first time I’ve read a memoir of this kind and I was moved beyond words. We read a great deal about cancer in works of fiction and watch movies where the ailment is brought under focus. However, we can never understand the tremendous hardships of this malady unless we come across real life accounts. Erin’s journal entries show us glimpses of the emotions she felt and the struggles she went through right from the moment of her diagnosis with leukemia. She has braved many challenges and overcome great odds to reach this point in her life when she is able to reflect on the crisis that redefined everything. She makes us realize how important it is to never give up on hope. As she mentions frequently in her memoir, we often take many things for granted. To some people, little things mean the world—the very things whose worth we never understand. Erin’s memoir is one of those books that make us conscious about the gifts we have in life, the greatest of them all—the ability to breathe. Yes, indeed, every breath is a gift. Erin’s battle with cancer shows the harsh realities and the will to look beyond it. This book can provide hope to people who fight new battles everyday and go through the turmoil of a grueling illness. It is also a reminder of the value of human bonding which acts as a catalyst in the healing process.
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September 10, 2015Erin is a woman facing the unthinkable yet she manages to focus on the positive as she deals with an unpredictable future. Her grace, determination and hope is inspiring. Luckily she has the support of her husband, her young son serving as her motivation. Her journal is affecting as she shares her inner most thoughts and feelings, her courage is amazing. A woman appreciating everything life has to offer as she knows first hand its fragility. Erin possesses tremendous strength and I am humbled by her story. I certainly closed the book with a new outlook and appreciation of life in general. Good health is a gift we often take for granted, the Erin’s of the world force us to count our blessings and be thankful for all we have. Please visit Be the Match, it can make all the difference in the world, save a life.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews