Welcome to the comments and discussion of the Young Adult Cancer Book Club! We are reading Mom’s Marijuana by Dr. Dan Shapiro! Catch up on pages 1-20, pages 20-40, pages 41-59, pages 60-80, pages 80-106, pages 106-125, and pages 125-148.
Let’s get started!
pages 149-181.
This section begins with Dan getting his head shaved by Sergio. For me, this was the hardest part of the cancer ordeal. When clumps started coming out, I had my hairdresser shave it all off. We both cried throughout the entire process. I was so sad, and still am, that my hair is gone.
He mentions the phrase ‘enlightenment under pressure’, which is a great outlook to have. This disease really messes with your psyche, and it is really important to remain as positive as possible. When you get to the “why me?” stage, you just have to tell yourself, “You’re okay. Get up,” as Dan did, when he found himself getting weak.
Hope. When Dan was yearning for some good news, I could sympathize with him. All we want is good news from doctors, or at least a bit of news to spark the diminishing hope. He begins to feel pain and immediately thinks that the disease has spread to his bones. I could relate to this because although I try not to, I constantly think that every pain I have, is cancer-related. It’s hard to not think that it will return and spread. This is why hope is such a valuable word. It gets you through all the doubtful episodes.
– Michelle O
Join in next Monday for comments and discussion on the next 20 pages of the book!
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Thanks for joining us for pages 149-181 of Mom’s Marijuana by Dr. Dan Shapiro! Join in next Monday for the next 20 pages of the book!
If you’re just joining us, here are some logistics:
The chapters and sections of this book are organized differently than in a book we’ve read together before. So instead of going chapter by chapter, we’ll go about 20 pages at a time each Monday. We’ll use one more Monday to talk about general feelings from the book and anything else you’d like to discuss. Join in, in the comments every week! At the end, we’ll have a book club discussion via video chat! Also, there will probably be spoilers. Read along with us!
How are you enjoying our young adult cancer book club?
