Between Me and the River - A Review

The synopsis taken from Carrie Host's Website:

"I do have a future, and the picture of that future is made up of a multitude of tiny dots called 'right now.'"

Carrie Host knows that the diagnosis of a life-threatening illness takes a split second to change your life, as well as the lives of your partner, parents, children and all who love you. Packed with inspiration, advice, comfort and hope,Between Me and the River is Host's candid and uplifting memoir of how she found the strength and fortitude to triumph over a rare form of cancer, and craft a new and meaningful life.

When told at forty, with her youngest child just ten months old, that she had carcinoid tumor, Host felt as if she'd been hurled into a raging river, stripped of all forms of potential rescue. The voyage of this strong-minded, openhearted woman out of that river and onto safe shores is told with uncompromising honesty and respect for the miracles that medicine and love can work.

While dealing with practical issues such as how to find the best medical team and what to tell the children, Host also recounts the many spiritual and eye-opening lessons that made her journey so bearable: how to see what is available rather than what is absent, how to free up energy to heal by letting go of anger and fear, and how to believe in the future.

Host's unquenchable sense of humor in the midst of suffering creates poignant moments of laughter through tears. Bracing, lyrical and deeply moving, Between Me and the River is a tribute to one life, and all lives, rerouted by illness. This remarkably honest book provides a deep sense of insight and understanding for survivors, caregivers, family members and friends.

What did I think?

Oh, how I LOVED this book. It was so good. It was beautifully written. Descriptive. Artistic. Heart wrenching. Inspiring. Just absolutely lovely.

This woman's love for her children and husband and her heartbreak for how her cancer touched her family's life was something I could imagine. It is one of my biggest fears to die and leave my children motherless, and my husband alone to raise them. This woman faced her own mortality and writes so honestly about it. I found myself crying many times throughout this book. Which is a good thing.

I highly recommend this book for anyone, not just if you are or know someone going through cancer.

This book was provided to me for an impartial review