Recently I have been on a bit of a reading binge and have come across a bunch of new favourites. They have been especially comforting to read while coming to terms with my diagnosis. Here are a few:
Pretty is What Changes: Tough Choices, the Breast Cancer Gene, and Learning How to Live in the DNA Age - Jessica Queller
I started reading this book about 5 months after my surgery/diagnosis. I was starting to realise that the pain was not going to go away and that the surgery had not completely fixed everything, and had made some things worse. In this book, the author writes about her struggle to deal with being told that she has the BRCA "breast cancer" gene mutation. What really hit home for me was the shock and grief that the author described feeling after her diagnosis. While endometriosis is a different disease and is not fatal, I had and still do have very similar feelings about my diagnosis and this book made me feel sane again. It is very readable and I recommend it to everyone - you will leave with a more open mind and a greater capacity for empathy.
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail - Cheryl Strayed
I devoured this book soon after my surgery. It is the memoir of the writer of the online column "Dear Sugar". At the age of 26, after her mother passed away from cancer and her marriage broke up, she decided to walk the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) solo. A pretty crazy and stupid idea in reality but an enthralling read. Reading this book filled me with hope that if she could overcome her setbacks and hike the PCT, I could deal with my health problems and come out on top. I also heartily recommend this book to everyone - the honesty is unlike anything I have ever read before.
An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination - Elizabeth McCracken
First up - this book is about a woman who first baby is still born. The predominant reaction I get when I tell people that I read this book and enjoyed it is that I must be a masochist. However, although I know that I am in a completely different situation, I also identified with how a veil of secrecy is put over still births. Before I read this book I had no idea that miscarriages and still births were so common. Before I was diagnosed with endometriosis, I had no idea that it was so common. Both are issues that are harder to deal with in secrecy and need more awareness so that people who have to deal with them do not feel so alone and broken.
You may see the theme of memoirs running through this post - interestingly enough I don't think I had ever read a memoir before my diagnosis whereas at the moment it is almost all that I read!
On a side note... any book lover should check out Goodreads. I used to have little slips of paper all over my house or random notes on my phone with lists of books that I wanted to read - now I have it all on there! (They have an app too.)
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This month I will be taking part in National Health Blog Post Month. Check back every day to see the new topic and learn more about endometriosis. Today's topic is: Book report. What’s your favorite book and how can you tie it to your health or life?
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