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We know about the symptoms, treatments and side effects of cancer, but survivors are not always prepared for the questions that follow.
Cancer changes us in more ways than we expect.
Why did I survive when others didnt?
Will I ever be able to trust my body again?
What is life all about?
Who is important to me?
Why cant I go back to the way things were?
How do I tell my family Im different?
For the one million cancer survivors in Canada, and the 150,000 more diagnosed with the disease each year, there is no guide to act as a bridge from hospital to home until now.
Written by the leading Canadian experts on life after cancer, Picking Up the Pieces is the first book to combine the inspiring voices of survivors with a practical recovery process.
Preston Manning, Former Leader of the Official Opposition and cancer survivor says, As a cancer survivor, I have experienced many of the uncertainties and emotions that Magee and Scalzo describe so well. I highly recommend their book and their helpful strategies for coping, not only to cancer survivors, but to the families, friends, and care givers of those endeavouring to pick up the pieces.
This book manages to be both reader-friendly and theoretically sound, rising above the run of self-help books by eschewing the simplistic and the prescriptive without sacrificing accessibility and practicality.
The authors apply transition theory to the time in between, that no-man's land between when the treatment has ended and when the survivor is "back on track," the same person at the core, but with a changed perspective on the world and a new or renewed direction in their own life.
Magee and Scalzo offer a "plot your own course" map for the journey from survival to a more meaningful life. Frequent quotes from survivors validate the reader's own experience and put real flesh on the bones of the healing process.
Every chapter includes concrete steps for planning and action, all focused on guiding readers to the heart of their unique experience. The authors recommend two ongoing practices - attentive walking and a 5 question check-in, to keep in touch with the core self as the inner guide. A "self-scan" of body, mind, spirit and relationships, and a "healing plan" provide frameworks within which readers are encouraged to make choices, articulate intentions and identify actions.
But "Picking up the Pieces" recognizes that obstacles and diversions can sabotage even the best hopes, and the book does not stint on identifying predictable barriers and proposing strategies to overcome them.
This is an inspiring and encouraging read for anyone who wants to take control of their own healing and rise to the greatest calling of all - "to be your most authentic self."
I've been quoting bits of it to everyone - not just people with cancer either. If you know someone who has had a scare, a wake-up call, an incident or a tough time that moves them to take stock and re-think how they want to live - give them this book.