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Dancing With The Red Devil
Sarah Standing is a wife, a mother, a journalist, a toy shop owner, a grandmother, a great friend, a daughter, and a lover of life. She does not have the time, or inclination, to deal with cancer. But shit happens. After a week or two of struggling to catch her breath, Sarah pops along to see her GP for a few tests. By the end of the day, she has a bag of what looks like bone broth draining from her body and is dealing with a diagnosis of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. It's cancer, says her doctor, but it's the good kind.
Radiating personality from the very first page, this memoir is filled with joy, hope and love, and screams 'FUCK YOU, CANCER' at the top of its lungs. Covering the six months that Sarah undergoes chemo - separated from her family by the laws of lockdown - this book will make you laugh, sob and grab life firmly by the balls so you can live the hell out of it.
Radiating personality from the very first page, this memoir is filled with joy, hope and love, and screams 'FUCK YOU, CANCER' at the top of its lungs. Covering the six months that Sarah undergoes chemo - separated from her family by the laws of lockdown - this book will make you laugh, sob and grab life firmly by the balls so you can live the hell out of it.
- GenresNonfiction
304 pages, Hardcover
Published September 26, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 22, 2024
I have read many true accounts of cancer but this is the one that stands out for me.
Sarah writes so beautifully and her warm personality shines through along with her profound love for her family.
I learned a lot about one of the lesser known cancers None Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Sarah was so brave and honest that despite the difficult subject matter this was a joy to read.
Sarah writes so beautifully and her warm personality shines through along with her profound love for her family.
I learned a lot about one of the lesser known cancers None Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Sarah was so brave and honest that despite the difficult subject matter this was a joy to read.
March 7, 2023
I've followed Sarah's story for some time now. Really enjoyed the snippets about her childhood. An inspirational lady!
March 23, 2025
Cancer In The Time Of Covid
In a nutshell, this book tells the story of Sarah Standing, a wife, mom, grandma, business owner etc, who finds herself dealing with a cancer diagnosis during the Covid pandemic. They are on lockdown and the isolation is very difficult for the normally busy couple and their entire family but they have no choice.
It began for Sarah with shortness of breath that she initially brushed off and later regretted as she was diagnosed with having a tumor which turned out to be Non Hodgkins Lymphoma. She was plunged into a world of chemotherapy appointments, steroids, scans and being the one taken care of rather than her normal role of taking care of others. It was not always a comfortable transition!
I was initially going to rate the book a 3. It felt rather matter of fact and repetitive and I don't feel it was great at getting to the emotions of cancer, the tremendous fear, the impact on the family, the marriage etc. However she DID write about her feelings regarding treatment and how it dragged on etc. She described the fatigue, the hair loss, the port placement and side effects which for Sarah, were thankfully not as brutal as some folks have experienced. I'm also glad that she nor her husband caught covid during her treatment. I ended up giving the book a 4 star rating because it was edited quite well and the author writes better than just "average." Plus she put forth the effort!
I did find some of it a bit repetitive with regard to the descriptions of going for scans, blood work, chemo and getting results. And I wouldn't have appreciated not being shown the tumor, and getting thorough explanations regarding scan results. When one asks how the scan looked and is told things are "PROGRESSING nicely" I'd have freaked because when dealing with cancer I'd interpret that as having gotten worse. But the healthcare system in England is obviously different from the U.S. as is the wording used.
In a nutshell, this book tells the story of Sarah Standing, a wife, mom, grandma, business owner etc, who finds herself dealing with a cancer diagnosis during the Covid pandemic. They are on lockdown and the isolation is very difficult for the normally busy couple and their entire family but they have no choice.
It began for Sarah with shortness of breath that she initially brushed off and later regretted as she was diagnosed with having a tumor which turned out to be Non Hodgkins Lymphoma. She was plunged into a world of chemotherapy appointments, steroids, scans and being the one taken care of rather than her normal role of taking care of others. It was not always a comfortable transition!
I was initially going to rate the book a 3. It felt rather matter of fact and repetitive and I don't feel it was great at getting to the emotions of cancer, the tremendous fear, the impact on the family, the marriage etc. However she DID write about her feelings regarding treatment and how it dragged on etc. She described the fatigue, the hair loss, the port placement and side effects which for Sarah, were thankfully not as brutal as some folks have experienced. I'm also glad that she nor her husband caught covid during her treatment. I ended up giving the book a 4 star rating because it was edited quite well and the author writes better than just "average." Plus she put forth the effort!
I did find some of it a bit repetitive with regard to the descriptions of going for scans, blood work, chemo and getting results. And I wouldn't have appreciated not being shown the tumor, and getting thorough explanations regarding scan results. When one asks how the scan looked and is told things are "PROGRESSING nicely" I'd have freaked because when dealing with cancer I'd interpret that as having gotten worse. But the healthcare system in England is obviously different from the U.S. as is the wording used.
September 14, 2023
poignant but just perfect
I loved this memoir from the great Sarah Standing. Just loved it. Honest. Funny. But true. an excellent and rewarding read.
I loved this memoir from the great Sarah Standing. Just loved it. Honest. Funny. But true. an excellent and rewarding read.
May 21, 2024
Beautifully written, what an amazing lady you are SS
May 19, 2025
Dancing with the Red Devil delivers as a bitingly honest and transparent memoir about a woman living in the wake of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. While memoirs are not exactly my favorite thing to read, I cannot question Standings’s immense talent for nonfiction storytelling.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews