Young Adult Cancer in Fiction

Two new novels with stories themed around cancer are new releases. What's remarkable is that they are both very good novels apart from the cancer storyline and from the fact that both are published in the Young Adult category.

Likely the publishers booked them as "YA" books because the main characters are teenagers but be assured these are powerful, well-written and emotionally mature books. Yes, they are great reads for folks you know 13 to 18 who have a friend with cancer or who want a serious, non-vampire read. But they are also for those of us who love a good novel, with complex characters, engaging narrator, and great writing.

They are:

"The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green   and

"The Probability of Miracles" by Wendy Wunder.

Add these to your library list or get them at your local independent bookstore--in our Albany Capital Region that is The BookHouse at Stuyvesant Plaza in Albany or Market Block Books in Troy.

Standing By

I have a cold that I can’t shake. Everyone I know has or had this cold and all my hand washing, zinc lozenges and vitamin C did not save me. But I’ve been fighting this like crazy because today I was giving a talk on my book about military mental illness and I really, really wanted to give that talk. I love talking about the men—the China Marines—that I interviewed for this book and their stories of survival. But this dam cold and constant cough--I knew I was in danger of my voice simply disappearing mid-sentence.

So I prayed--for God’s will and acceptance--and to get my ego out of the way. What mattered was that the stories got told and that the China Marines –Donald, Frenchy, Gene and Bones--lives got witnessed. Then it hit me. I could ask John to go with me, and he said yes. He would read if I couldn’t.

I loaded the podium with hot water, throat spray and cough drops and I explained to the audience that my husband might step in to read if my voice disappeared. John was standing by.

I read for the whole 55 minutes. I told the stories of men who served and survived and thrived—men who were my teachers. And after I finished reading I opened my mouth to say “thank you” and my voice was gone. It was a gift to be able to give the talk and John was beside me to take over.

How Not to Die of Cancer

I’m re-reading Siddhartha Mukherjee’s wonderful book, “The Emperor of All Maladies—a biography of cancer.”

He says so many things that are obvious after you read them but that we don’t think about day to day. Such as: “Cancer is imprinted in our society: as we extend our life span as a species, we inevitably unleash malignant growth (mutations in cancer genes accumulate with aging) so that cancer is thus intrinsically related to age. If we seek immortality, then so, too, in a rather perverse sense, does the cancer cell.”

This is one of the reasons people in the developing world have more cancer. We live long enough to get cancer.

So how to not die of cancer:

Die young.

Die of malnutrition.

Or die of TB, cholera, malaria, dysentery, or any of the prevalent fevers in the second and third worlds: Choose from River Fever, Dengai Fever or Scarlett Fever.

Reading and Writing

Being a writer will make you a better reader. Not because of some cognitive or intellectual process but simply because if you are supposed to be writing, and you are afraid to begin, the very best procrastination is reading. So if you promise yourself that you’ll do a lot of writing that’s a sure fire way to get a lot of reading done.