Books on My Mind

Building Mountains from Dust

I was asked recently if I would be part of a virtual book tour for a memoir about cancer. Four reasons I agreed:

1. Our daughter is an oncologist, i.e. cancer doctor
2. I like to read memoirs
3. We’ve had cancer in our family
4. I may want to do a virtual book tour when my next book comes out.

So I said yes. My commitment was to post a review of the book on my blog. I hope you enjoy the review. Let me know if you decide to read the memoir Building Mountains from Dust.

Facing a diagnosis of cancer is an alarming experience. Kimberly Young receives the diagnosis of stage 3 non-small cell, non-smoker lung cancer when she is 50 and at the height of her career. The news stuns her. She had gone to her doctor for a cough and had no expectation of anything more serious.

For the next eight months she swings between resilient hope and despair. Her resilience comes from her friends and her faith. Her despair comes as she recalls the death of her beloved step-father at age 65 from cancer.

The discussions Kimberly Young and her husband have with her doctors are memorable and helpful for anyone facing a similar diagnosis. She provides just enough information for scientifically minded readers but not too much to overwhelm. It is easy to share her sense of dismay and sometimes confusion when she hears results of her tests and learns what her options are.

Kimberly’s Career and Relationships

We learn that Kimberly Young is an expert on Internet Addiction Disorder! She speaks internationally on the topic, and says she cherishes the impact her research has on those who benefit. I believe her motivation to write the memoir is similar: to provide help for others who face the same diagnosis.

Her relationship with her mother is a major topic. She tells us early in the book that her childhood was like “growing up in a morgue.” So when she finally braves a call to her mother to relay her diagnosis, we are cheering for a warmer relationship.

The second major topic is her relationship with her faith, which provides a strong support for her. I loved her depiction of the Believers Chapel where her friend took her to a service. She found it emotionally rewarding and refreshing after a lifetime of boring Catholic mass.

I suspect many cancer patients and others facing life-threatening illness find comfort in the rituals of their faith and some, like Kimberly, are happy to explore new ways of worshipping.

She amuses us when she talks about her willingness to abandon any concern for healthy and weight-conscious eating after her diagnosis. “Why should I care?” she says. I wish she had told us how she felt about that after she recovered her sense of hope.

Birds Bring Messages of Hope

Most entertaining were her encounters with birds! There are just two but they are fun and meaningful. A robin repeatedly tries to fly into her office, bumping against the glass window. A friend searches the web and finds that the robin is a symbol of rebirth of the spirit, growth, and renewal. Later a sparrow finds its way into her life and again she finds meaning in its visit.

She and her husband visit the Cleveland Clinic for a second opinion. She is driving home singing along to Madonna. She concludes her memoir saying on that day, September 16^th 2016, “No one had made me any promises. . . .but I finally had hope.”

She is about to receive the results of gene testing. I wish she had continued for another few pages to tell us that result and whether she would receive treatment targeted at the specific gene behind her cancer.

Her epilogue gives us a sad update. Her husband’s death in February 2017, when they are on a cruise celebrating his 74^th birthday, stuns her again. Though he’d had health issues before they embarked on the cruise he seemed in excellent condition. They had more concerns over her health than his.

Building Mountains from Dust would have benefitted from closer editing; there are superfluous sentences from time to time and the narrative could have been tighter. I wish the author had told us why she chose the title.

Nevertheless this is a powerful memoir of dealing with cancer. Others facing the disease themselves or with their loved ones will find it a worthwhile read.

There is a giveaway for the winner’s choice of one print or ebook copy of the memoir. Print is open to the U.S. only and ebook is available worldwide. The giveaway ends October 31, 2018, midnight Pacific time.

Freshwater, the Novel

I wrote recently about the novel Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi. Brigitte, a Nigerwife who lives in Germany, commented.

She said, “Yesterday I went to a reading with Akwaeke Emezi who read from her book Freshwater during the International Literature Festival in Berlin. She is a striking person, very beautiful, very eloquent and held the audience spellbound.”

I can imagine it would be intriguing to hear the author read from her novel.

Leonardo the Biography

Leonardo Da Vinci, a Walter Isaacson biography, is holding my reading attention now. I’m reading it for our Mount Holyoke Alumnae book group. We meet next Monday.

I have the 600+ page book and an audio version, both from Westport Library. I may not finish but I do find the book fascinating.

I also find the audio version soporific! The man reading the audio book, with his deep voice, puts me right to sleep despite the interesting facts he’s relating!

What are you reading? Have you been to an author’s presentation recently?