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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“What a powerful book! It is beautiful to read, it is honest and powerful. By talking so privately about yourself you touched so much of my own life and I am sure of many others. Our stories are not parallel, yet you touched some kind of essence in the relationship process (at least in our western society). You touched me both at the individual and at the couple level, even if my story is different from yours. I consider myself a very strong woman, but it empowers me to read a book like yours. I cried and laughed and was left with a very positive feeling.

Your book will make many woman and many couples feel they are not isolated and in an indirect way will validate their inner feelings and maybe give them the strength to deal with them. You are a great writer.”
Ana

“i finished your fabulous 'novoir' at breakfast this morning and it was spectacular ! Virginia Woolf would be proud (and so am i)… the truth i wake up to every morning is, ‘everything and nothing has changed.’ great line, Gail.
even more, i loved the 'Miss American Pie' lyric, the seamless, subtle thread you used to tie the tapestry together. the subterranean connections ('february made me shiver') to the death of the innocence of rock and the death of the innocence of the pre-cancer days . . . LOVE EM! if i had the time (i certainly have the inclination), i'd write a critical essay Gail, because your book deserves it. it straddles commercial and literary… we can all resonate with Cancer.”
Brian, 23

“I started your novel today and had to finish. I can't explain the connection.

Honestly, besides your humor and wit, the novel resonated with me like nothing ever has. Not because of the breast cancer, but being a doctor's wife. I cried at so many parts. It was so real, as though you were inside my marriage. The inadequate feeling of being home, trying to write. The attitude like I should thank him for being married to me. I came away from your novel knowing one other person understands. One other woman has felt the way I have. It's very comforting--empowering in a way. The wife, the kids, can't compete with the hospital or the patients. Maybe after so many years of playing second you begin to believe it.

I took far more away from this novel than a great read. Thank you so much for your candor, I've never connected on so many levels with a book. Your words have forced me to take a good hard look at so many things. Your novel is a very special gift to all women, especially me.”
Cathy

“I just wanted to say thank you for your book. I just finished Cancer is a Bitch and thought I'm so glad I stumbled upon it at the library where I work. I was just diagnosed with ADH and am awaiting a biopsy to see if it is DCIS as well. Reading about you has made me feel like I am going through this with a friend. So thanks for being there for me and understanding the pain, discomfort and fear associated with the procedures I've had and the procedures yet to come. I am 38, live in the suburbs of Chicago, and have noone close to me who has gone through any of this before. Your book came it the right time for me and I just watched to say thanks.”
Naomi

“I just finished your book this afternoon. I couldn't put it down. My first (wildly inaccurate) impression was way off ! I was thinking.... is this going to be merely an intense screed, a wailing against horrid bad luck, an indulgent poor me diatribe against the inept medical community, a cry for help or a selfish attention-getting plea for sympathy?.....and honestly wondered where it would or could go. I kept on flipping the pages.....and the layers of humanity and vulnerability and FEAR began to build and it pulled me in, deeper and deeper until I felt as though I were personally going through your hell. But all the while, you managed to keep your midlife journey funny and poignant and courageous… I think having cancer gave you your life back… Thank God you survived intact and sane. Now please, you owe the world some more tender, yet electrifying books!”
Kim

“I just finished your book, literally, about five minutes ago and I loved it.
As of this writing, I am awaiting my own breast cancer surgery… Your book made me both laugh and cry. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one that has had all the "random" thoughts of blame, guilt, etc. I just want to thank you for putting your heart and soul out there for people to see. I know it has helped me in my own cancer crisis and is helping many other women and their families as well.”
Annette

“just finished your book, literally about 1/2 hour ago and I really loved it…
You truly are a remarkable women. Don't fool yourself, with all that you have gone through, cancer and life in general made me sit and think about my own life and the words that you wrote hit home with similar things that happened in my own life and have me wondering and thinking everyday how I ended up where I have… since the day that you and I met I have made changes in my life for the positive and I have you to thank for that… I am now more positive of the direction I am going to take in my life and start doing things that I should have done along time ago and didn't… I kind feel that I have a new friend in you and even though I haven't had cancer, but I did go through the mother thing and the husband thing and the children thing similar to you, it was just nice and refreshing to know that besides me there are others out there that think and talk the same as me and have the same scares and thoughts.

So in the end Thank You! Because of you I am on the road to accomplishing anything and everything I set my mind to do and finally finish them too.”
Ellen

“I just finished your book Cancer is a Bitch and loved it! My mom just finished cancer treatments and is doing great and I'm going in for my own small procedure tomorrow to get a lump removed. I grabbed your book randomly in a rush at the library to get something to entertain me on my commute and couldn't believe how relative it was to my life. Thanks for everything.”
Jennifer

“I just finished reading your book "Cancer's a Bitch" and thought it was delightful, both funny and candid. Just wanted to say kudos to you to writing a book that was honest about the disease while also celebrating the joys and pitfalls of other areas of your life. I think a lot of people will really appreciate it.”
MacKenzie

"I could not put CIAB down! You don't have to be going through cancer to appreciate Gail's wit and hysterical perspective on life in general. For someone with cancer, they will inevitably relate to her raw and realistic observations on what this diagnosis/ disease can do to a person and her family and friends. That said, Gail takes you through her journey in such an honest yet light-hearted way and in the end you feel her strength and sense of humor take her through it all and inspire others along the way. As one who works with cancer patients, I recommend it constantly to patients. I truly did not want this book to end and felt that Gail was a new friend!”
Susan

“I just finished your book. It was so inspiring, enlightening and personal. I had a hard time putting it down.”
Debbie

“I just finished you terrific book, the thoughts and feelings racing through my head, tears running down my cheeks…. All this to let you know that I love your book—your book about life, being a woman, a mother, a wife, making choices, struggling, self discovery and cancer too. It’s happy, sad, painful, scary, uncomfortable and triumphant. While it’s you, it’s part me too and probably thousands of others. That’s your success. Thank you. You shine, girl.”
Sherrie

“I've finished it (two days non stop)...the book is AMAZING!!!!! It was the strangest experience too because I knew some of the people you were talking about...your hair dresser and his wife, your best friend the runner with the great style (in clothes and glasses) and of course your family. You know when you read a book and you paint a picture of what the character looks like, then you see the movie and the director has casted the characters all wrong and ruined the plot? That was not happening to me...I could see the looks on your children's faces, the love and fear in [your husband’s] voice and the strength, determination and reality in your thoughts. Your mother and your concerns for your own influence as a mother speak to me in ways that I can not explain. It was like I was watching it happen...I laughed out loud, I cried, I prayed and most of all I was so proud that you were able to believe in yourself and your family in order to create this book! You have a real gift Gail...thank you for sharing it with all of us… you truly are a blessing and an inspiration.”
Rachael, 31

“I picked it up tonight… and read it in one sitting. My arm fell asleep, but I
couldn't put it down. It is really a stunning book. Perfect to read so
close to doing the komen 3-day… Loved it. Hate that you had the story to write, but love that you shared the story… thank you, thank you!”
Leah

“I started the book last night at bedtime- read into the night and finished this AM. It is beautiful- honest, gutwrenching at times, and very powerful. Congratulations on the book and the journey that produced it.”
Katie

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