Book Club: Everything Changes, Chapter 6

Welcome to the comments and discussion of Chapter 6: Something in the Air 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, and Chapter 5: Malignant and Indignant.

Let’s get started!  Chapter 6!

Mallory:

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the title of this chapter, “Something in the Air.”  Was it going to be about sex, air toxins, what?  While not what I expected, this chapter has been one of my favorites so far.  The first line, “…I uncovered a gigantic cancer taboo: admitting the fact that having cancer does not necessarily make someone a nice or interesting person.”  It made me laugh out loud.  Exactly as the author pointed out, this is a very taboo statement and yet so very very true.  I have met many cancer survivors in my role with Lacuna Loft, and you know what?  I don’t like all of them!  Some of them are mean, some are boring, some are self-obsessed…just like the variety you find in healthy, normal people!  This of course works in both ways.  Many of the cancer survivors that I have met have quickly become very close friends…the kind that you can text very late at night, the kind that you know you can count on.

The author also delves into dating a bit more in this chapter, unveiling personal moments of finding the right time to divulge about a history of cancer and the relief of having a loving side kick through it all.  She also gets into the contentious topic of “the good and the evil in cancer,” finding her own truths and quietly beseeching the reader to do the same.  She talks about a little bit of death and a little bit of environmental toxicity.  Such good things in this chapter.  Her resources include items about cancer and the environment and building support systems.

I’ll leave you with my favorite quote from chapter 6, “I’ve spent much of my life reading, studying, theorizing, and cancer made me want to go out and feel, touch, taste new things.  I’m more adventurous with food, more into getting hugs, I go to the petting zoo more often, but it’s not like I’m doing ecstasy or having sex in bathrooms.”

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Thanks for joining us for our Chapter 6: Something in the Air of Everything Changes: The Insider’s Guide to Cancer in Your 20s and 30s!  Join in next Monday for Chapter 7: Mortality Bites.

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?

P.S.  Apologies for having some of these posts come a little late or out of order!