posted at 06/10/09 - 04:10 PM
Hello Jan, I read your book on Saturday, all at once. I couldn't put it down. Ok, I tried to put it down a few times thinking that I usually prefer to read books in segments each day. I kept coming back. I had to finish it. It was so good. Something about your honest voice is very addictive. I want to say that memoirs that include cancer journeys is a difficult genre for an author I think. The experience of cancer drives so many people to speak their truths and share their lessons. While the stories are all important, they often struggle to be told. Your story has the mark of a seasoned writer, a gifted storyteller and teacher. Your plain honesty is restorative. Your wisdom is a beautiful crystal that I would like to carry with me everywhere and view the world through it. I knew that you were working on a book and even that it was coming out. I knew that you had an amazing and inspiring story. I did not realize that your telling of your story might change millions of peoples lives for the better. I realize that I don't know you very well; I nonetheless love you in a special way, so I am biased. But I don't think your teaching days are over. I think the world will be hearing from you. Or perhaps now that it already has, you will be hearing from it. I thought this publishing would be the end of something, the writing of it I guess. But I can see that this is just the beginning, like a birth. I certainly think your book should be mandatory reading for anyone who works with cancer patients. It is the voice inside that I have always wanted to hear. I hope that hearing your voice trains my ear to hear more clearly the inner voice of others. I am lending my copy to Jen next. Thank you for using your transformative powers to refine and reflect your lessons and blessings back to us. Namaste, Michelle