Keeper of the Lost Cities (Keeper of the Lost Cities #1) by Shannon Messenger

★★★★½

Super derivative and frequently reminded me of Harry Potter. Sophie, like Harry, was a pre-teen who had only ever known a human existence when suddenly she finds out she is something else. They were both whisked away to a special school in a secret world hidden from humans. They feel inadequate for not understanding the ways of "their people", yet they are both uniquely more advanced than their peers in special ways. Light leaping is analogous to apparating and disapparating, and Keefe's dad reminded me a lot of Lucius Malfoy.

All that said, even if this work is derivative, my son says it gets more original in future books, and my daughter points out that at least it's well-executed. I'll have to keep reading to see if I agree with my son, but I can say I do agree with my daughter. Characters are engaging, the plot is intriguing. What exactly is the big secret of Sophie's existence?! Sophie's crush is a little eye-rolling, but it's all age-appropriate. I also really like that Sophie seems to have a good head on her shoulders. Most of the time, she properly turns to adults in times of crisis, and when she doesn't, the repurcusions are swift.

I'm giving the book short of 5 stars because it kind of irks me the way Marella and Jensi were just dropped. They were the first to reach out to Sophie in school, not knowing anything about her, and I think they deserved more consideration than they got! At one point, Sophie has a falling out with some people and laments that she "had no friends". But what about Marella and Jensi!? Apparently they are chopped liver.

Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book (6th Edition) by Susan M. Love

★★★★½

The first thing that struck me was the very first line of the Acknowledgments, in which Dr. Susan Love says that she revises this book every 5 years. From my own limited research, it's clear that the treatment of breast cancer has had major developments over the last few decades, and it's good to know this book stays abreast (haha) of new advancements. 

The second thing that struck me was the very first line of the Introduction, in which Dr. Love notes that this sixth edition, published in 2015, will probably be the last revision. I hope this is not really the case, because this book is such a thorough, accessible, go-to reference for breast cancer. It would be a shame if future women don't have an up-to-date resource like this one! I hope that maybe someone else from the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation will take over the book and ensure it's continued relevancy. (Maybe they figure everything should just be online these days...)

Dr. Love's writing style is colloquial, her descriptions and explanations are clear and easy to understand. A quote on the front cover touts this book as "the bible for women with breast cancer," and it really is. I think any woman who has been diagnosed with breast cancer should get their hands on this book as soon as possible and keep it close by for reference. 

This isn't a book that needs to be read cover to cover; chapter titles are self-explanatory, and there is a complete index, so you can look up terms and topics and questions as they come up. (In fact, there are sections towards the end titled "How Long Do I Have?" and "End-of-Life Planning: Making Your Wishes Known" that I really hope I don't ever have to read.)  

That said, this book isn't just for women who have already been diagnosed with breast cancer. Any woman who has started getting mammograms, or who has found a lump and is facing a possible diagnosis, should have this book, too. There are entire chapters on screening and diagnosis that I imagine would be very helpful if they are read even before being diagnosed, or while going through it.

In my personal experience, I wish I had this book for reference as soon as I felt a lump. My cousin gave me the book in the time between diagnosis and double mastectomy, but I admit I didn't read it right away, and that's on me. I should have read the sections on mastectomy and sentinel lymph node biopsy before my surgery. All the information is so straightforward and thorough; the book included everything that I had otherwise gathered from multiple web sites and online support groups, plus some. Moreover, my online research involved having to filter out random pieces of information that didn't apply to me, and it took a lot longer than if I had just read a few pages of this book instead.

I finally picked this book up about 3 weeks after my surgery, just before meeting with my medical oncologist. Once I saw how accessible the information was, I jumped ahead, searched the index, and read the pages about types of cancers and different kinds of treatment. Reading just these select pages helped me feel more prepared for my appointment. And as soon as my oncologist confirmed my treatment plan, including chemotherapy and hormone therapy, I went straight to relevant sections of the book.

I did notice that the book does not use some common terms, even when it does address the particular issue. For example, it mentions that after a mastectomy, "surrounding tissue under the arm may seem baggy and excessive and hang over your bra," (p. 475) but it doesn't use the term "dog ears", which is how the condition is referred to in online forums. It also describes "axillary web syndrome" (p. 348) as a side effect of lymph node surgery, but does not use the word "cording", and neither term is included in the index. As someone who happened to develop cording after surgery, an index reference to this topic would have been nice.

Additionally, not every drug is specifically mentioned. For example, in the section on gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, Zoladex (name brand for goserelin) is discussed, but not Lupron (name brand for leuprolide). Taxol (name brand for paclitaxel) is also not in the index. I understand that not every single drug can be covered, but as someone being prescribed these medicines, the omissions were noteworthy for me.

I do wonder if the book being published in 2015 has anything to do with the above two observations. Like maybe the terms "dog ears" and "cording" have only recently become more widely used? Or maybe Lupron and Taxol are less common these days? I don't know.

Because this book is more like a reference book, I have not read it in its entirety. I certainly plan to use it as needed moving forward.

The Cancer Journals: Special Edition by Audre Lorde

★★★★

The actual book is a very brief 79 pages. The special edition additionally includes 20 pages of photos and posthumous tributes to Audre Lorde, who died of liver cancer in 1992. I am reviewing only the content written by Audre Lorde; I admit I did not read all the tributes that followed.

Audre Lorde was a black lesbian feminist poet. Her writing is at times poetic or edgy. It's important to keep in mind that this book was written in 1978, and the landscape of breast cancer detection, treatment, and prognosis has changed significantly since then; genetics as a factor in the occurrence of breast cancer was not yet known at the time. She advocated for going flat after a mastectomy, and was against wearing prostheses. She was sometimes skeptical of the medical establishment, and she supported exploring alternative therapies.

The book started out non-linearly. On page 26, Audre Lorde began to tell her story narratively.

One speech reprinted in this book was given after Audre Lorde had surgery for what ultimately turned out to be a benign growth, before she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to undergo a mastectomy. Her speaking at this point in time is powerful. Many women experience the fear of breast cancer, and are thankfully spared. Their experiences and voices are valid in conversations about breast cancer. For every woman with breast cancer, the path began with that fear of suddenly becoming "forcibly and essentially aware of [your own] mortality" (p. 17), and a hope to be spared.

I don't think I would automatically recommend this book for anyone diagnosed with breast cancer and undergoing a mastectomy, but it's certainly worth a read if you have been diagnosed and are working through emotions, or are considering going flat. Reconstruction was still a relatively new post-mastectomy procedure back in 1978, but it's no surprise (given her feelings on prostheses) that she referred to it as an "atrocity". (p. 70) If you've already decided to go flat, this book can be a strong affirmation of your decision.

This book was a very personal read for me, so the rest of this space I will use to identify quotes that were especially meaningful to me, and why.

"These selected journal entries... exemplify the process of integrating this crisis [of breast cancer and mastectomy] into my life." (p. 8)

Having cancer is not a "phase". It's not something you "get over" or "put behind you". Being diagnosed with breast cancer and undergoing a mastectomy changes you forever. The non-existence of your breasts is a constant, daily reminder. There's always a chance the cancer will return, and you live with that "background noise of fear" (p. 12) and anxiety for the rest of your life.

"[W]hat is most important to me must be spoken...the speaking profits me, beyond any other effect." (p. 17)

Well, I'm glad Audre Lorde spoke, because her speaking profited me, too. As a woman with breast cancer recovering from a double mastectomy without reconstruction and having a whole lot to process, reading this book assured me that I am not alone. So much of what she wrote - about fear, mortality, self-identity, pain (both physical and emotional), even the feeling of support when showered with the care and concern of others - resonated with me personally, even as the details of her experiences differed from mine.

"Once I accept the existence of dying, as a life process, who can ever have power over me again?" (p. 24)

Variations of this sentiment were repeated a few times throughout the book. Being diagnosed with cancer means being forced to face your mortality. It's just a really powerful idea that once you face the very real possibility of death, everything else is put into perspective.

"I am a post-mastectomy woman who believes our feelings need voice in order to be recognized, respected, and of use." (p. 7)

"I am also writing to...[set] down my artifacts, not only for later scrutiny, but also to be free of them. I do not wish to be free from their effect... but free from having to carry them around in a reserve part of my brain." (p. 54)

These words echoed my own feelings of why I decided to keep a blog about my breast cancer experience. The "of use" part is why I made my blog public; I hope my experiences can help support and reassure another woman in her time of uncertainty, anxiety, and fear.

"[The] socially sanctioned prosthesis is merely another way of keeping women with breast cancer silent and separate from each other." (p. 14)

"Prosthesis offers the empty comfort of 'Nobody will know the difference.' But it is that very difference which I wish to affirm, because I have lived it, and survived it, and wish to share that strength with other women... [W]omen with mastectomies must become visible to each other." (p. 62)

1 in 8 women will eventually be diagnosed with breast cancer, but you wouldn't know that by looking around you. There is a whole sisterhood of potential support for one another, but we don't know who has borne the burden of breast cancer because we try to hide the evidence of having been through it. I get it. Social norms are hard to go against. Women are "supposed" to have breasts. But what if we could recognize our warrior sisters on sight? I think it would be empowering. Of course it's a very personal decision whether or not to get reconstruction, and if not, then whether or not to wear prostheses. I have chosen no reconstruction, and I'm not sure yet where I'll end up regarding prostheses, but certainly this book has inspired me to more boldly embrace being flat, and has reassured me of the power and peace of not wearing prostheses.

I think it's worth noting that while Audre Lorde doesn't spend a lot of time reassuring women who do choose to wear prostheses, she does say that prostheses "can still serve a real function for the woman who is free enough to choose when and why she wears one or not." (p. 68) She was not completely against prostheses; what bothered her was how much immediately wearing a prosthesis was considered the normal, default thing to do, and how it was a way for women to reclaim their "old selves" before even allowing them the time and space and opportunity to get to know and love their new selves, sans breast.

No Other Gods: The Politics of the Ten Commandments by Ana Levy-Lyons

★★★½

Full disclosure: I went into this book self-identifying as a politically liberal Christian.

In this book, Ana Levy-Lyons shows us how the Ten Commandments support liberal Christianity. "Liberal Christianity" may seem like an oxymoron if your idea of Christianity is what is presented by the conservative, right-wing Christians who seem to dominate the American religious landscape. But here, Levy-Lyons even goes so far as to call out the religious right for the ways in which their interpretation of Christianity actually breaks some of the Ten Commandments.

Interestingly, I associated the Ten Commandments so strongly with Christianity that I was a bit surprised when I realized the author is Jewish. But of course, the first five books of the Old Testament are the Torah, so the Ten Commandments are as much a part of Judaism as they are a part of Christianity.  

Rather than write off the Ten Commandments as irredeemably outdated, oppressive, and a symbol of tribalism, the author encourages us to reclaim these ancient teachings within the context of modern times. She is clear that she is not trying to define what the Ten Commandments "actually" mean; instead, she examines the original text of each commandment and extends the interpretation beyond the literal. What do the Ten Commandments offer us, spiritually and politically, in the 21st century? Levy-Lyons proposes that keeping the Ten Commandments is to "reclaim...the concept of God...as a force for justice and stewardship of the earth." (p. 96) She leads us to think beyond our individual selves to see how the Ten Commandments can shape our thinking in regards to broader issues such as protecting the environment and supporting a living minimum wage.

The chapter on the Fourth Commandment about observing the Sabbath especially resonated with me. The author interprets this Commandment as urging us to take time to slow down and take care of ourselves on a regular basis, engaging in "joyful, life-affirming, relationship-building, or spiritually deepening deployments of our time." (p. 112) She notes the irony in how, in our over-scheduled world of commitments and busy-ness, "it takes discipline...to enter into an undisciplined, formless time." (p. 119)

The chapter on the Sixth Commandment that forbids killing was also especially eye-opening for me. (The commandment is not as straightforward as one might expect.)

I admit, the writing in this book didn't grab me at first. What finally made the book click for me was imagining the words being spoken as in a sermon. The whole book is like a really great, thought-provoking sermon series. 

I do wish the book, as a work of non-fiction, had references. The author makes a lot of statements that we are expected to accept at face value, without being given a source. Statements like, "Over one billion people in the world lack access to safe drinking water," (p. 166) and, "Today in the United States the average CEO makes a salary several hundred times that of the average worker." (p. 202)  I know these statements are in the ballpark of being true (I don't know exact figures) because I keep up with the news and current events. But I can see someone else doubting those kinds of statements, wondering if maybe she's exaggerating.