- Paperback: 144 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins; 1 edition (6 July 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0060789735
- ISBN-13: 978-0060789732
- Product Dimensions: 21 x 17.9 x 1.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 553,939 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Trade in Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person: A Memoir in Comics for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Plus, get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"So funny, so sad, so daring, so honest, and so utterly human that I couldn't put it down."--Harriet Lerner, Ph.D., author of The Dance of Anger
Product Description
Miriam Engelberg is a successful cartoonist who was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 43. Like many who face trauma, tragedy and illness, she was unable tell her story in traditional written and visual forms. Instead, she has written a distinctly unique cartoon memoir. Following in the Art Spiegelman tradition of graphic novels, Engelberg walks us through every emotional and physical stage of the disease, from diagnosis to a return to "normal" life and everything in between: waiting for the biopsy results by pretending to be doing everything but that, awkwardly breaking the diagnostic news to horrified acquaintances, shopping for wigs while fighting nausea and disorientation from her cancer drugs, feeling like an outsider in support groups, and speculating about what caused the cancer in the first place - overzealous cheese consumption or apathy about multi-vitamins? "Cancer Made Me A Shallower Person" is an offbeat and darkly humorous account of one very funny woman's battle with an uncertain and often fatal illness.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an amazing book. I have had two friends die of breast cancer - a lot of the situations the author described, in comic book form, made me laugh out loud, even though we are talking about a serious subject. The situations were familiar - like, the page that talks about how everyone says to the cancer patient 'oh you are so brave, you are an inspiration' etc. I can remember having a conversation with my friend Moeroa about this stereotyping of cancer 'victims' and the requirement to be brave at all times! So, buy this book if you want a humorous, and frank look at cancer (breast cancer in particular). Personally, I think it's a wonderful contribution to literature about cancer, and I hope it will give people a laugh while they are expected to be 'brave' about their cancer.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
38 reviews
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
A fresh look at how someone's life changes with a cancer diagnosis
17 Mar 2006
Format:Paperback
Cancer Made me a Shallower Person, by Miriam Engelberg, is a memoir in comics. If you are used to thinking of comics as being time-wasters for teenage boys, then this book might be a good introduction to the power that comics can have when they are written for adults. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi would be another good one to check out (it is about her life growing up in Iran), as well as the Dykes to Watch Out For series by Alison Bechdel (hilarious series, meant for liberal women, and is very funny and touching).
Engelberg talks about the changes that came into her life when she was diagnosed with cancer, and recalls with humor and gentle intelligence the experiences and feelings involved in getting diagnosed with cancer, going through the treatment, and living through the experience. She manages to turn most of her experiences, even the incredibly scary and painful ones, into bittersweet, touching humor, which makes this a valuable resource for those who have cancer. This book is like hanging out with a witty and smart girlfriend, and I think a woman with cancer would really enjoy feeling like she wasn't alone in the experience.
It was a bit hard for me to read in places, because I don't have cancer and so haven't really had to face some of the difficult realities that she discusses. But I wanted to read it to understand a bit of what my friend's Mom is going through in her struggle with cancer, so even though it was painful in places, I thought it was a really valuable read.
11/06 - Just wanted to edit my review to say "rest in peace" to our dear author friend. After reading her book I felt like she became sort of a friend to me, and when I heard that she passed away last month I felt deeply saddened. She has touched so many of us with her writing and, I hear, her appearances, in which she showed a grace and down to earth friendliness which seemed to bring everyone attending into her circle of friends. I am grateful to have "known" her through her writing, and I wish her family peace.
Engelberg talks about the changes that came into her life when she was diagnosed with cancer, and recalls with humor and gentle intelligence the experiences and feelings involved in getting diagnosed with cancer, going through the treatment, and living through the experience. She manages to turn most of her experiences, even the incredibly scary and painful ones, into bittersweet, touching humor, which makes this a valuable resource for those who have cancer. This book is like hanging out with a witty and smart girlfriend, and I think a woman with cancer would really enjoy feeling like she wasn't alone in the experience.
It was a bit hard for me to read in places, because I don't have cancer and so haven't really had to face some of the difficult realities that she discusses. But I wanted to read it to understand a bit of what my friend's Mom is going through in her struggle with cancer, so even though it was painful in places, I thought it was a really valuable read.
11/06 - Just wanted to edit my review to say "rest in peace" to our dear author friend. After reading her book I felt like she became sort of a friend to me, and when I heard that she passed away last month I felt deeply saddened. She has touched so many of us with her writing and, I hear, her appearances, in which she showed a grace and down to earth friendliness which seemed to bring everyone attending into her circle of friends. I am grateful to have "known" her through her writing, and I wish her family peace.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Wonderfully thought-provoking (and laugh-provoking at times)
30 Jun 2006
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
One might no longer feel as though on an island of despair after reading this comic-format book. Many of the issues and concerns and the self-blame for why one has gotten cancer - as well as how various people react to cancer within themselves, or among their friends, relatives, co-workers and strangers - are addressed in a thought-provoking manner that at times makes you laugh, but most of all, makes you realize that you are not alone. This is not a book covering all the latest treatment options, how to deal with the therapies and so forth. It is a charming and witty and yet soberingly realistic look at life with cancer. And it also a wonderful comic-relief from some of the (often times quite frightening) issues and concerns of having cancer. It also helps one to realize that many others in the same boat are having the same feelings.
I thought that some of the pertinent things covered in the book are:
- blaming yourself for having eaten the wrong things or having lived the wrong lifestyle - eating all that cheese, or greasy junk food full of preservatives, or drinking all that diet soda, or talking too much on the cell phone.
- how people with different forms of cancer sometimes have trouble relating to each other and how people with the same forms of cancer tend to form cliques for this reason.
- the notion of being a cancer survivor: when does it begin (upon diagnosis?) and when does it end (are you still a survivor in your deathbed, drawing your last few gasps of air?)
If you have recently been diagnosed with cancer, or are fighting it, or know someone near and dear who is going through it - READ THIS BOOK. Add it to the list of how-to's and serious medical books. It will help you understand how the human psyche responds to this form of crisis just a little better.
I thought that some of the pertinent things covered in the book are:
- blaming yourself for having eaten the wrong things or having lived the wrong lifestyle - eating all that cheese, or greasy junk food full of preservatives, or drinking all that diet soda, or talking too much on the cell phone.
- how people with different forms of cancer sometimes have trouble relating to each other and how people with the same forms of cancer tend to form cliques for this reason.
- the notion of being a cancer survivor: when does it begin (upon diagnosis?) and when does it end (are you still a survivor in your deathbed, drawing your last few gasps of air?)
If you have recently been diagnosed with cancer, or are fighting it, or know someone near and dear who is going through it - READ THIS BOOK. Add it to the list of how-to's and serious medical books. It will help you understand how the human psyche responds to this form of crisis just a little better.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
I laughed, I cried
16 May 2006
Format:Paperback
Miriam Engelberg's graphic tale of her encounter with cancer is the best I've ever read. It's gripping, sympathetic, bitterly funny and gut-wrenchingly sad all at the same time. They (whoever they are) say humor helps boost the immune system. I'm not a doctor but I could dress up as one and I'd prescribe this book in a heartbeat.
Don't read it if you go for the schmaltzy stuff. Read it if you want to laugh, cry and shake your fist at the fates.
Don't read it if you go for the schmaltzy stuff. Read it if you want to laugh, cry and shake your fist at the fates.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
