Midpoint: Manhood, Midlife and Prostate Cancer

by James A. Hill

As a healthy 56-year-old marketing executive, Jim Hill never saw stage-3 prostate cancer coming. Yet, in early 2018 he found himself on his back for six hours, going through a laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. His surgeon ventured into the tangle of tissue, nerves, and blood vessels in his groin to remove his prostate, seminal vesicles, lymph nodes, and some surrounding tissue. The good news was Jim’s cancer seemed to be eradicated. The bad news was the experience would leave him altered physically and psychologically, as a man, a husband, and a father. Written for the 2.9 million men who are living with prostate cancer today—and for their loved ones, caregivers, and health care providers—Midpoint candidly explores the gritty, often embarrassing realities of prostate cancer and its impact on middle-aged male identity with clarity, compassion, and, ultimately, hope.

199 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 30, 2019

Reviews

[Mattie Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful story. A must-read for anyone, really, who is facing a challenge to their sense of self. This is a book not just about prostate cancer, but a story about midlife and the struggles so many people face at that time of life. Surprisingly funny and literary. James Hill comes out okay at the end, and so will you, armed with a heightened sense of humor and deeper insight regarding life's challenges and the possibility for human growth. Cannot say enough good things about this book--by far one of the best I've ever read. Looking forward to more from Hill in the future!

Merged review:

A powerful story. A must-read for anyone, really, who is facing a challenge to their sense of self. This is a book not just about prostate cancer, but a story about midlife and the struggles so many people face at that time of life. Surprisingly funny and literary. James Hill comes out okay at the end, and so will you, armed with a heightened sense of humor and deeper insight regarding life's challenges and the possibility for human growth. Cannot say enough good things about this book--by far one of the best I've ever read. Looking forward to more from Hill in the future!

[Jeff Peshut · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Midpoint: Manhood, Midlife and Prostate Cancer, author Jim Hill opens his hospital gown – both literally and figuratively – to reveal his own very personal experience with prostate cancer. Jim’s a very observant patient and writer and provides a detailed look at prostate cancer from diagnosis, through treatment and into recovery. Also in Midpoint, we see Jim as one of Joseph Campbell’s “heroes with a thousand faces” as embarks on his own hero’s journey. Ultimately, however, Midpoint is a love letter – to his wife Barbara and daughter Mattie, his mother, father brothers and sisters, his close friend Terry Julius, Dr. Touijer and other caregivers at Memorial Sloans Kettering hospital and finally the many men and their families who have or will encounter prostate cancer during their lifetimes.

[Barbara J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly courageous book. Surprisingly funny at points. Consistently smart, cogent, always thoughtful and soulful as well as soul-searching. I am moved by where the book lands in the end. Yes, there is potentiality to every new day. That might be too muted and quiet a conclusion for some readers, but I relish its subtlety and its truthfulness. I'm a woman, so I'll never experience prostate cancer directly, but I am hungry to learn more about what it means to age, and how our identities can and must shift with time. Cancer is the lens through which this book offers a meditation on growing old and growing up.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I purchased this memoir, I never expected it to be laugh out loud funny and sad at the same time. It's an inspiring story that reveals the aspects of prostate cancer and its medical treatment that families and friends rarely discuss. I found the book to be a page-turner as the author takes us through the emotional roller coaster from diagnosis to recovery. It's a must-read for men AND women.