By Amy Burns
When Amy Burns was diagnosed with breast cancer at 35 years old, she was shocked and terrified. Her baby had just turned one, and she and her husband (a stay-at-home-dad) were entertaining the idea of a second child. She was the career-woman in the family, and suddenly she was facing death.
Her memoir, written through poetry, moves through her story chronologically, from sharing the news of her cancer diagnosis with her husband while still on the phone with the nurse: ” I mouth it to you—the hard C of it choking my confidence and/ catching on my tonsils./ After the news,/ I see your eyelids like wet newsprint” to the end where she admits that her “prayers are more fervent now,/ dogged like spring leaves,/ warm and sticky with a baited question.” She’s living a new life of uncertainty that challenges her attitude on a daily basis. This is an honest story of hope, lightheartedness, and frankness for women who either have breast cancer or know someone who does.
Dr. Michelle A. Proper, MD, states, “As a radiation oncologist, I treat breast cancer patients daily. Breast Cancer at 35 gave me an intimate, brilliant and raw account of the other side of the exam table. I will be recommending this memoir to my young patients to help give them insight into the emotions that emerge in everyday life with breast cancer.”
Breast Cancer at 35: A Memoir is available for purchase through Amazon.com.