CANCER IS A BITCH
*or, I'd Rather Be Having a Midlife Crisis

Da Capo Lifelong Books
Hardcover, 261 pages
$22.00
ISBN: 978-0-7382-1162-6 Buy the Book
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“Don't let the "C" word scare you— Cancer Is a Bitch is smart, funny, hopeful, and as much about life, families and self-discovery as the cancer that prompts it. I loved this book: Read it!”
—Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants

“Gail Konop Baker is a knock-out writer who cracks me up one minute then brings me to tears the next. Her beautiful, funny, feisty, poignant memoir isn't just an inspiration for cancer patients and their families—but for all of us. There is so much wisdom between these pages, yet the story is told without an ounce of self pity or a trace of triteness. In the end, this tale is a testament to how precarious and priceless life is, and how each of us needs to live it to the fullest, starting right now.”
—Lolly Winston, author of Good Grief

“Gail Konop Baker has achieved the near-impossible: She's given us real life—funny, sad, intimate, heartbreaking, and hopeful—on the page. To write that way is her gift, and it's a gift to readers too.”
—Jon Clinch, author of Finn

“Cancer Is a Bitch smartly illustrates how breast cancer impacts our roles as wives, mothers, lovers, and friends. Gail Konop Baker's candid recollections are also filled with extraordinary hope and humor. Her 'mammoir' is witty, wise, and wonderfully written.”
—Elisabeth Squires, author of bOObs: A Guide to Your Girls

Reviews
“unflinchingly intimate…packed with razor-sharp humor…the antithesis of a victim's tale …Cancer is a Bitch offers a humorous…. relevant glimpse into an experience… many women will face.”
—Miami Herald

“…funny, uplifting ‘mammoir’” (4 stars)
—OK! Magazine

“In this heartfelt memoir, Baker proves to be both humorous … and compassionate.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Cutting, crafty, and clearly a woman on a mission, Baker takes us along as her life turns upside down in so many ways. No graphic treatment specifics here, but an honest (and very funny….) approach to breast cancer.”
—Library Journal

“The abstract risks concretized into everyday worries—indeed, all everyday aspects of the disease—are made wrenchingly authentic in Baker’s down-to-earth account.”
—Booklist

“Baker courageously places her screwed-up childhood, imperfect marriage, motherhood and sanity under the microscope…Her guts, and affection for the occasional joke, toke and profanity, make her a deeply consoling companion on a frightening journey.”
—Bookpage

“Approaching midlife, Gail Konop Baker hadn't really imagined that she would be confronted by anything more irksome than menopause, aches and pains, and, eventually, the quiet of an empty nest. Instead, this runner, mother of three, and physician wife got hit by breast cancer. Despite that blow, Gail's spirit (and ambitions) remained buoyant. As she wrote on her blog, "I want to be brave. I want to be big. I want to be gracious and cool. I want to be the Audrey Hepburn of cancer." And in this endearing, ebullient memoir, she succeeds.”
—Barnes & Noble

“You-are-there account of the author’s diagnosis, surgery and much more.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Runner, wife, mother and Prevention Magazine junkie, 46-year-old Baker was looking forward to worrying about neck wrinkles when she was blindsided with a diagnosis of breast cancer. Over the course of a year, she chronicles how she kept her humor even as the peaceful midlife and happy marriage she had envisioned earthquaked into rockier terrain. Full of humor, grit and hope, Baker’s book is both heartbreakingly honest and undeniably healing. It’s also full of heart: some of the proceeds go to national Breast Coalition and the Wisconsin Well Woman Program.”
—Dame Magazine, November’s Best Books

“This is a medical memoir told from the other side of the hospital bed. A fit, suburban mom, wife of a radiologist, and a woman eager to see her words in print, Baker is diagnosed with breast cancer while writing a novel about a woman facing down a midlife crisis and a lump. Who says life doesn’t have a taste for the ironic? Though this book won’t be published until October, I was fortunate enough to read an advance copy, and it is without question one of the most powerful books I’ve read. I’ve not had the bad fortune to have had cancer (knock wood) nor have I faced down a midlife meltdown, but I found myself relating on the most primal level with Baker’s story about being a woman. She is at once frenetic, searing, vulnerable, pissed off, utterly charming and always, always honest. This will stay with me for all time.”
—Readerville

“…Gail Konop Baker strips down to raw feelings and takes us on a ride through life with her husband, three children, literary yearnings, a rocky family background and a diagnosis of breast cancer. Baker writes well about the emotions that often go along with a diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer and puts it in perspective with the whirl of life as a Mother and wife.”
—About.com

“A funny and moving memoir, Baker shares her struggles with juggling breast cancer treatment, midlife, motherhood and marriage with a "rogue boob"—and, ultimately, triumphing.”
—Self Magazine’s 2008 Women’s Cancer Handbook Resource Guide

“The minute I started reading Cancer Is A Bitch, I could NOT put it down. Honestly, irreverently, hysterically and exquisitely, Gail hurled me into what she endured and continues to face as a cancer survivor. But, more than that- the frenetic chaos, endless questions, overwhelming fear and love, so much love for her family, her life and her relationship with herself, it was so poetically human, so perfectly written, how could I not relate? With every page I devoured, the more invested in Gail's life, in her family, her hopes, her dreams, her friends, her choices, her fears, her consequences, and her everything, I became. I felt so deeply connected to her. I fell in love with her, her bravery, the complexity of her mind, how brutally-unrelentingly-honest she is and her humor…”
—All the Way from Oy to Vey

“Facing fears with humor, honesty”
—Honolulu Advertiser

“the humor is wonderfully sarcastic and heartbreaking at the same time… its best aspect is its sheer humanity. Isn’t depressing… funny, witty… will have you laughing out loud. Read this book.”
—S. Krishna’s Books

“Unflinchingly intimate, never whiney, often hilarious and always authentic.”
—Lei Chic

“Cancer Is a Bitch is a rollicking, life-affirming read, by a true heroine for our times.”
—HealthNewsDigest.com

“Books for Breast Cancer Awareness Month”
—Lively Librarian

“a heart-felt, gut-wrenching beautiful story…”
—Cheryl’s Book Nook

“I caught myself laughing. A lot. Wasn’t this is a cancer memoir? Why the heck was I laughing? …Gail is your everyday mom living in Wisconsin. She’s just like me — and you. She got hit hard by cancer and figured out how to keep her head high. It’s a lesson anyone can use right now.”
—BabyCenter MOMformation.com

“If you're expecting a downer, Cancer Is a Bitch isn't it.”
—Work It, Mom!

“The writing is utterly superb as Gail's voice speaks to your heart about her life which — for a time — happens to include dealing with a health issue...yet it could be any other physical, emotional, deeply personal issue. So please don't shy away from this book. Instead embrace it, be enlightened by it and — most of all — enjoy it.”
—Seize a Daisy

“I had heard wonderful things about this book from some other bloggers, but I was anxious to see for myself whether I would like this book. Let's just say that I read it in less than a day, and I couldn't put the book down — I absolutely adored this book. Ms. Konop Baker is a terrific writer; and while I read this book, I felt like she was just talking to me and telling me about her life. But what really impressed me was her ability to make me laugh (even though I didn't find her situation to be funny in the least) as well as her brutal honesty about her cancer… Ms. Konop Baker is one incredibly strong woman and a very gifted writer. As I read this book, I just marveled at the strength and grace she showed when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Even though I've never had any health issues (kind of like Ms. Konop Baker pre-cancer), I could totally relate to her feelings. I think I'd have so many of the same reactions she did, and her fears about her children losing their mother were painfully real to me. Not only did I appreciate how open she was about not only her fears and insecurities of having breast cancer, but I was also very impressed with her honesty about her relationships with her husband and mother… I highly recommend reading Cancer Is a Bitch. I think every women would enjoy this well-written memoir.”
—Booking Mama

“Baker gives women a voice that says, you can be angry, cry, hold your loved ones close, reject people who love you… Yes, Gail Konop Baker's memoir is right, Cancer Is a Bitch.”
—Lesa’s Book Critiques