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Through the Lens of Love: Facing Terminal Illness
After receiving a fatal diagnosis, how do you go on living with joy, humor and a zest for life?With Through the Lens of Facing Terminal Ilness, you can learn how it’s possible.
After Dr. Richard (Dick) Gross and his wife Robin receive news that he has an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma (GBM), the life they built together over forty years abruptly changed in one day. Dick needed to close his beloved small town medical practice and face the inevitable- that he would eventually die from this disease and lose his loving wife and children. The couple had been looking forward to spending time on their passion of photography in their retirement some day, but instead, facing GBM became their new full-time job.
With the help of family, friends, and acquaintances, his last two years became an unexpected, extraordinary part of Dick’s life. Through the Lens of Facing Terminal Illness is foremost a love story. This openhearted, inspiring, story brings you on an amazing journey that begins on a photography trip to Monet’s Garden in France and ends with an emotional reunion in Callaway Gardens, Georgia.
After Dr. Richard (Dick) Gross and his wife Robin receive news that he has an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma (GBM), the life they built together over forty years abruptly changed in one day. Dick needed to close his beloved small town medical practice and face the inevitable- that he would eventually die from this disease and lose his loving wife and children. The couple had been looking forward to spending time on their passion of photography in their retirement some day, but instead, facing GBM became their new full-time job.
With the help of family, friends, and acquaintances, his last two years became an unexpected, extraordinary part of Dick’s life. Through the Lens of Facing Terminal Illness is foremost a love story. This openhearted, inspiring, story brings you on an amazing journey that begins on a photography trip to Monet’s Garden in France and ends with an emotional reunion in Callaway Gardens, Georgia.
382 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 12, 2020
4 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 30, 2020
What Helps People the Most with Terminal Illness
Robin Gross has written an inspirational book about living with Glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. It's the story of a diagnosis rocking the lives of a devoted couple and their adult children and grandchildren. What made the book so moving and special was the way Dr. Richard Gross and his wife Robin coped with his illness. They brought years of love and working together as a team to problem-solving the challenges of this disease. Dick and Robin figured out how to enjoy people and the things they loved to do with a life-enhancing spirit of positivity. A large network of family, friends, neighbors, Dick's patients, and caregivers came together in a magnificent support system. This connection with caring people made all the difference. Robin showed how human, loving, and healing contact makes terminal illness bearable. A long time ago, if you read "When Bad Things Happen to Good People", you will find another inspiring model to learn from in Through the Lens of Love.
Robin Gross has written an inspirational book about living with Glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. It's the story of a diagnosis rocking the lives of a devoted couple and their adult children and grandchildren. What made the book so moving and special was the way Dr. Richard Gross and his wife Robin coped with his illness. They brought years of love and working together as a team to problem-solving the challenges of this disease. Dick and Robin figured out how to enjoy people and the things they loved to do with a life-enhancing spirit of positivity. A large network of family, friends, neighbors, Dick's patients, and caregivers came together in a magnificent support system. This connection with caring people made all the difference. Robin showed how human, loving, and healing contact makes terminal illness bearable. A long time ago, if you read "When Bad Things Happen to Good People", you will find another inspiring model to learn from in Through the Lens of Love.
May 18, 2020
In reading this beautiful memoir, the author opened her heart and beautifully written words of wisdom, love and insight came pouring out. This is truly a an interesting and riveting memoir that takes you throughout the last two years of her husbands life living with glioblastoma; a true love story. The words from John Lennon and Paul McCartney resonates throughout the book. “And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make”.
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August 13, 2022 A heartfelt memoir of Robin and Dick’s journey
while coping with Glioblastima ( GBM) .A true testimony
of love through sickness and health.Robin’s detailed
description of this fatal illness along with their everyday
decisions both big and small were remarkable. A true
love story that also conveyed a love of their
garden,photography,travel( including the people they met along the way) family and friends. Not only did Robin make me feel as if I was part of their journey but a book I could not put down. A must read for all
while coping with Glioblastima ( GBM) .A true testimony
of love through sickness and health.Robin’s detailed
description of this fatal illness along with their everyday
decisions both big and small were remarkable. A true
love story that also conveyed a love of their
garden,photography,travel( including the people they met along the way) family and friends. Not only did Robin make me feel as if I was part of their journey but a book I could not put down. A must read for all
March 4, 2021
Living and loving your way through terminal glioblastoma
In “Through the Lens of Love” Robin Gross recalls the ordeal of her husband Dick’s two- year struggle with glioblastoma, a malignant brain tumor. She very bravely describes all the emotions she experienced from hope, gratitude and elation when things were going well to anger, frustration, despair and guilt, but always with love. In doing so, she models for us that conflicting emotions must often be held together. Robin and Dick each embodied the adage that ‘to have a friend, you must first be a friend.’ This became apparent when Robin finally acknowledged that she needed support to care for Dick and the outpouring of love, concern and help from friends and family flooded in. Too often people feel that it is selfish to ask for help, but Robin discovered that people were grateful for the opportunity to return the many kindnesses they had received from her and Dick, and no one considered her selfish.
This memoir will be interesting to people who care about someone with glioblastoma, but it goes far beyond that. It is a love story of real lives that graphically depicts the true meaning of ‘in sickness and in health.’
In “Through the Lens of Love” Robin Gross recalls the ordeal of her husband Dick’s two- year struggle with glioblastoma, a malignant brain tumor. She very bravely describes all the emotions she experienced from hope, gratitude and elation when things were going well to anger, frustration, despair and guilt, but always with love. In doing so, she models for us that conflicting emotions must often be held together. Robin and Dick each embodied the adage that ‘to have a friend, you must first be a friend.’ This became apparent when Robin finally acknowledged that she needed support to care for Dick and the outpouring of love, concern and help from friends and family flooded in. Too often people feel that it is selfish to ask for help, but Robin discovered that people were grateful for the opportunity to return the many kindnesses they had received from her and Dick, and no one considered her selfish.
This memoir will be interesting to people who care about someone with glioblastoma, but it goes far beyond that. It is a love story of real lives that graphically depicts the true meaning of ‘in sickness and in health.’
June 15, 2020
Too Few Books Really Help Us Grieve.
“Through the Lens of Love” is a rare exception. Buy this book: you’ll certainly want to reread parts.
Writing this book took astonishing courage, excellent writing, and the achievement sharing a difficult personal story of what the writer learned too — to survive and thrive facing unspeakable loss of what was hers for life — so she thought, and so we too often dare to presume.
Kudos & strength to Robin Gross — with gratitude for this handbook of how to face our extraordinary losses: longtime partners; parents through longterm, difficult, & terminal illnesses; closest friends. “Through the Lens of Love” uses no clichés or shortcuts — it matters. We need this.
This book matters. Tools for serious grieving are spartan. Reading about this valuable, life-affirming, & yet terrible journey will greatly help others with honest, generous, courageous words. And guess what else? Despite its subject and grief – it’s very diverting and often fun — superb surprise!
“Through the Lens of Love” is a rare exception. Buy this book: you’ll certainly want to reread parts.
Writing this book took astonishing courage, excellent writing, and the achievement sharing a difficult personal story of what the writer learned too — to survive and thrive facing unspeakable loss of what was hers for life — so she thought, and so we too often dare to presume.
Kudos & strength to Robin Gross — with gratitude for this handbook of how to face our extraordinary losses: longtime partners; parents through longterm, difficult, & terminal illnesses; closest friends. “Through the Lens of Love” uses no clichés or shortcuts — it matters. We need this.
This book matters. Tools for serious grieving are spartan. Reading about this valuable, life-affirming, & yet terrible journey will greatly help others with honest, generous, courageous words. And guess what else? Despite its subject and grief – it’s very diverting and often fun — superb surprise!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews