I was intrigued by an
interview on the CBS Morning News with Hollye Jacobs, a woman who, following
her breast cancer diagnosis, started a blog to keep family and friends informed
of her progress. Ms. Jacobs has now written a book called The Silver Lining
based on that blog, which according to amazon.com is scheduled to be released
in March.
This is not a new idea. Many of you have kindly suggested I do the same. It is also another one of those things that I would never have given much notice if not for a whole cascade of events….the diagnosis, the radiation oncology resident (my husband’s student) who led us to Caring Bridge, the wonderful notes so many of you posted over those six months, and the frequent encouragement to continue the blog.
I did go to the web page and read a bit of her blog. The design, the links, the organization and structure are all quite impressive. But it has a perky optimism that I find somewhat annoying. Does it border on trivializing the disease and treatment? This is an issue with which I have struggled quite a bit. Without a doubt there are bad days, days when I am annoyed, disappointed, even angry, days when all I can think about is how much I miss my old life. Barry has discouraged me from committing those feelings to pen and paper (or in this case, to Word documents) to protect both of us from sliding too far into negativity, and I appreciate his wise counsel. But as I read some of Ms. Jacobs writing, I found myself being annoyed by that perkiness. It is all just too perfect. Anyone who has been through this knows that life is not really that way. It is a standard to which I cannot rise and perhaps should not even aspire.
So, on second thought, perhaps I will pass on this book.
Love,
Rebecca
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