Book Club: Everything Changes, Chapter 12

Welcome to the comments and discussion of Chapter 12: Naked in the Streets of the book, Everything Changes: The Insider’s Guide to Cancer in Your 20s and 30s!  Catch up on Chapter 1: Ramenonmics, Chapter 2: When G-d Things Happen to Sick People, Chapter 3: Single, Chapter 4: Human Spectacles, Chapter 5: Malignant and Indignant, Chapter 6: Something in the Air, Chapter 7: Mortality Bites, Chapter 8: The Myth of Eternal Optimism, Chapter 9: It Girl, Chapter 10: The Fix, and Chapter 11: Off the Map.

Let’s get started!  Chapter 12!

Mallory:

This chapter focuses on so many important topics.  Anxiety and recurrence are the two that hit home for me the most.  She talks about having a supportive spouse as a caregiver, spending time being unproductive for the first time, and so much more.

“Those empty TV days were also the first time as an adult that I had allowed myself to be completely unproductive without worrying about the consequences.  In the end, I was much more productive that I would have been if I had forced myself to work when all I wanted to do was crawl into a hole.”

I deal with feelings of fear and shame often when it comes to the battle between wanting to be productive and wanting to crawl into a hole.  Some days I listen to my body and take breaks when I need to.  Other days I pull myself through the emotional sludge.  Sometimes I know I made the right decision and other days I’m not sure which one is “better” or more productive in the long run.  Matthew Zachary of Stupid Cancer is also featured heavily in this chapter.  Some of his ideas about the world I fully agree with, other make me cringe, but he offers many insights into the realities of being a young adult cancer survivor.

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Thanks for joining us for our Chapter 12: Naked in the Streets of Everything Changes: The Insider’s Guide to Cancer in Your 20s and 30s!  Join in next Monday for Chapter 13: Fluke.

If you’re just joining us, here are some logistics:

We will talk about a chapter each Monday until the book is done.  Then, 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!  Also, there will probably be spoilers.  Read along with us!

How are you enjoying our young adult cancer book club?