For the last several weeks, I’ve been getting feedback both on the idea of Chase Away Cancer and now on the finished book itself. Everyone is being so gracious, but there have also been some threads of question and/or doubt woven in that I’d very much like to put to rest.
So, what should you expect when you’re expecting to read this book? Here are the three most common points of feedback that I hear. I hope with all my heart that the answers put your mind at ease and prepare you to join us on the journey.
1. “Well, I probably won’t read the book because I’ve followed along with your blog the whole time, so I pretty much know the story anyway.”
Yes…and super, really NO.
Yes, it’s true that if you’ve followed the blog or Facebook page, you have a good idea of where the story goes, however, this book was written from scratch (almost two whole times!) and while it holds some similarities (lessons learned, etc), this is the straight-up, dialogue-filled story of Chase’s diagnosis and treatment. I’m not kidding, you guys. You will be IN THE ROOMS with Bob and I as we make decisions on his treatment and life.
This is unprecedented openness for us — and it is so much so that over a dozen medical staff had to sign off on conversations and use of their real names. It’s so different from the blog in some ways that my own parents (with whom we lived during Chase’s treatment) read the book and immediately called us to say “Wow, we knew, but at the same time, we didn’t know…”
So, to sum up, put all ideas of a yawn fest aside. I kept you faithful story-followers and blog readers in mind when I wrote the manuscript – there will be plenty to learn, and dare I say, even …enjoy?
2. “I really want to support you and everything, but I’m really scared to read a book about a child who gets cancer.”
I would be too.
I can honestly say that if I hadn’t written this book, and somebody told me I should read it, I would probably approach it with some trepidation.
There will be some chapters that you’re going to want to have the box of tissues close, but there are other chapters that will make you laugh out-right and you’ll be shocked that you just giggled over a book with the word “cancer” in it. This is life with Chase. You laugh. You cry. And sometimes, you do both together.
My amazing editor and I (along with a gifted and highly skilled team) worked incredibly hard to make this book “breathable” – ie: you will feel what we felt in the sadness, but you’ll also feel our joy and you’ll find times to “breathe” and take it in as you read. In other words, you’ll get all the feels, but it’s unlikely to blindside you. This was written for joy and grace, not a shock value.
3. “But I don’t have a child with cancer.”
That’s the best news I’ve heard all day!
While it’s true that this book will probably speak most directly to parents of children with cancer, each chapter ends with something God taught us on the journey and the heart of the entire book is that LIFE IS MESSY, but GOD IS FAITHFUL.
So yes, your life might not include cancer, but don’t underestimate how the story might touch you, encourage you, or give you far greater understanding into the life of a friend who might be hurting.
Does that sound proud? I don’t mean it to be — but you guys, throughout this journey, I’ve been amazed that some of the greatest, most touching stories I’ve ever heard about what’s written on this blog came from people who were encouraged and given hope to carry on because they saw their infertility, their disease, their caregiving, their financial difficulties, their selling a house, etc, etc… (seriously, I could go on and on) through the same eyes as I saw a trial of cancer. Yes, my difficulties might look different than yours, but stress is stress and in that, there is a really incredibly universality in Chase’s story.
So, won’t you join us?
*Have other questions or concerns? Please let me know! I’d love to answer them.*
Moment by moment.
