A wry, witty account of what it is like to face death -- and be restored to life. This inspiring memoir chronicles acclaimed Salon journalist Mary Elizabeth Williams' incredible victory over malignant melanoma. Personal, intimate, and exquisitely reported, her book illuminates the new science of immunotherapy, a breakthrough drug protocol just approved by the FDA that is slated to change the face of cancer research.
MARY ELIZABETH WILLIAMS is a senior staff writer for award-winning Salon.com, and has appeared in the New York Times and numerous other national and regional publications. The author of Gimme Shelter- Ugly Houses, Cruddy Neighborhoods, Fast Talking Brokers, and Toxic Mortgages- My Three Years Searching for the American Dream, she lives in New York City with her family.
“This highly recommended account demonstrates the value of
cutting-edge cancer research, but it is also beautifully crafted,
and many readers will find it entertaining and—though the author
might not like this term—inspiring.”—Library Journal, starred
review
“Exhilarating and entertaining...Williams delivers a complex tale
about a complex disease.”—Kirkus, starred review
“[Williams] eloquently and generously shares her story and her
emotions in this remarkably illuminating account.”—Booklist,
starred review
“Devastating and wise, clear-eyed and funny, A Series of
Catastrophes & Miracles is a cliché-busting tour guide through a
country no one volunteers to visit (and how can you resist a cancer
memoir that beings “Spoiler: I Lived.”) This is a book for all the
survivors—of cancer, of marriage, of mothers, and of children; of
all the trials and journeys that make us who we are.”
– Jennifer Weiner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of novels
including Good In Bed, Best Friends Forever, and Who Do You
Love
“This astonishing and inspiring book reveals not only the
experimental treatment that healed Mary Elizabeth Williams but also
the deep reserves of grit, love, and humor that help people face
life’s toughest tests. When you laugh and cry at the exact same
time, you know you are reading an amazing survival story.”
– Piper Kerman, author the #1 New York Times Bestseller Orange Is
The New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison
“In writing a book not just about her own cancer but about the
vexing history and science of cancer itself, Mary Elizabeth
Williams has given us both a page-turning personal story and deeply
informed look at a disease that fascinates even as it
terrifies.”
– Meghan Daum, author of The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of
Discussion
“I so admire Mary Elizabeth Williams’s gaze and candor, but perhaps
most of all her humor, which keeps us great company in this
touching book.”
– Jami Attenberg, author of Saint Mazie and The Middlesteins
“This isn’t simply a book about cancer. It’s about the powerful
connections that emerge in crisis, the discovery of our own
carrying capacity for grief and compassion, and the marvel of
resilience and stubborn mystery that is the human body. Mary
Elizabeth Williams offers an important lesson in cutting-edge
medicine, but also how to endure the worst days of your life while
remaining tough, tender, and funny as hell.”
– Sarah Hepola, author of Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank
to Forget
“Mary Elizabeth Williams is an author you’ll want to seek out and
befriend once you’ve finished her book. She bares so much of her
soul on the page—her joys, her fears, her suffering—we can’t help
but fall in love with her. This is as real as it gets.”
– Susannah Callahan, author of Brain on Fire: My Month of
Madness
“A Series of Catastrophes & Miracles shattered me. In the best
possible way. One minute I’d be bawling, the next unable to stop
laughing. Mary Elizabeth Williams is the funniest, raunchiest,
smartest, heart-fillediest, science geekiest, and most genuine
guide not only into the sh*t-out-of-luck cancer netherworld -- but
also into the unvarnished reality of marriage, motherhood, and
family. I’d call her a warrior, but she’d hate me for that. So I’ll
simply say this: f*ck cancer and buy this book.”
– Deborah Copaken Kogen, bestelling author of The Red Book and
Shutterbabe
“Mary Elizabeth Williams understands what it means to straddle life
and death and the story she brings back is harrowing, hilarious,
enlightening, and, above all, touched with the kind of grace the
comes from having stared mortality right in the eye.”
– Gayle Forman, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling novel
If I Stay
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