- Hardcover: 252 pages
- Publisher: Kent State University Press (15 Nov 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0873389247
- ISBN-13: 978-0873389242
- Product Dimensions: 19.9 x 25.7 x 2.5 cm
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More About the Author
Product Description
Synopsis
Tom Batiuk spent several years as a middle school art teacher before creating the comic strip Funky Winkerbean in 1972. Originally a "gag-a-day" comic strip that portrayed life in high school, Funky has evolved into a mature series of real-life stories examining such social issues as teen dating abuse, teen pregnancy, teen suicide, violence in schools, the war in the Middle East, alcoholism, divorce, and cancer. In 1999, Lisa Moore, one of Funky's friends and a main character, discovered she had breast cancer. Batiuk, unsure about dealing with such a serious subject on the funny pages, decided to go ahead with the story line. He approached the topic with the idea that mixing humor with serious and real themes heightens the reader's interest. Lisa and husband Les faced the same physical, psychological, and social issues as anyone else dealing with the disease. After a mastectomy and chemotherapy, Lisa was cancer free. She finished her law degree, opened a practice, and had a baby daughter, Summer. Then, in the spring of 2006, the cancer returned and metastasized."Lisa's Story: The Other Shoe" is a collection of both the 1999 comic strips on Lisa's initial battle with cancer and the current series examining her struggle with the disease and its outcome. Additionally, it contains resource material on breast cancer, including early detection, information sources, support systems, and health care.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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12 reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
This One Hit Home
23 Oct 2007
Format:Hardcover
I lost my mother to breast cancer on September 13, 2004. She was 52, and, like the main character of "Lisa's Story," her cancer had been in remission for many years until it unexpectedly metastasized. My mother, an artist, violinist, and sculptor, attended Kent State University with Tom Batiuk, the creator of "Lisa's Story" (and Tom's some-time collaborator, Chuck Ayers). Batiuk styles much of his fictional world off of my native northeast Ohio, and so the familiarity of his characters made me a fan at an early age. As I have grown, his characters have grown, and the scope of his storylines have grown along with them. "Lisa's Story" is perhaps the crowning achievement of this constant evolution, profound, compassionate, hopeful, and very, very real.
I could not help but think of my mother as I followed the story of Lisa's battle with cancer as it unfolded in the Cleveland Plain Dealer over the past several years. As soon as this collection came out, I made a point of buying it and reading the whole story from start to finish.
It was a hard read, not because Batiuk had erred in any sense as a storyteller. Rather, this book was hard to finish because Batiuk had succeeded so completely in capturing the rollercoaster ride that is life with cancer with such utter pathos and clarity. I was weeping by the end. Don't be surprised if you're weeping, too. But don't let the tears scare you. The moral of the story is something you should take to heart, whether your life has been touched with cancer or whether you have had the great good fortune to dodge that terrible bullet. Buy this book. Read it. You will never think the Sunday funnies are just trivial confections again.
I could not help but think of my mother as I followed the story of Lisa's battle with cancer as it unfolded in the Cleveland Plain Dealer over the past several years. As soon as this collection came out, I made a point of buying it and reading the whole story from start to finish.
It was a hard read, not because Batiuk had erred in any sense as a storyteller. Rather, this book was hard to finish because Batiuk had succeeded so completely in capturing the rollercoaster ride that is life with cancer with such utter pathos and clarity. I was weeping by the end. Don't be surprised if you're weeping, too. But don't let the tears scare you. The moral of the story is something you should take to heart, whether your life has been touched with cancer or whether you have had the great good fortune to dodge that terrible bullet. Buy this book. Read it. You will never think the Sunday funnies are just trivial confections again.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Lisa's Story: The Other Shoe FITS
18 Oct 2007
Format:Hardcover
After reading this book, I felt a profound sorrow. Because of a comic strip character? While the character Lisa Moore is fictional, her experience with breast cancer rings so true! (I'm a survivor and a Reach to Recovery volunteer, so I know whereof I speak!).
From find the lump, going through surgery and treatment, Tom Batiuk explores Lisa's emotions and those of her husband Les. And GETS IT SO RIGHT! You feel her heartbreak when the cancer returns. And you feel, too, her pain as she agonizes over her treatment decisions, and wanting to leave a legacy for her daughter.
Many kudos to Tom Batiuk for being brave enough to turning the cancer experience into a strip, and treating it with poignancy, humor and love. You will love the fighting spirit of Lisa Moore - what she goes through is what women diagnosed with cancer go through, every day.
From find the lump, going through surgery and treatment, Tom Batiuk explores Lisa's emotions and those of her husband Les. And GETS IT SO RIGHT! You feel her heartbreak when the cancer returns. And you feel, too, her pain as she agonizes over her treatment decisions, and wanting to leave a legacy for her daughter.
Many kudos to Tom Batiuk for being brave enough to turning the cancer experience into a strip, and treating it with poignancy, humor and love. You will love the fighting spirit of Lisa Moore - what she goes through is what women diagnosed with cancer go through, every day.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Lisa's story is the BEST book ever!!
9 Nov 2007
Format:Paperback
I have never read a book that could make me laugh and cry all within 2 pages of it. I read "Lisa's story" for the first time in the comic strips and fell in love with Funky Winkerbean. Now every Sunday I look forward to getting the Sunday paper just so I can read it first thing and see where Tom Batiuk is taking the characters next. It's great having the whole collection because now I can see what happens in between the Sunday ones and it actually makes me feel like I'm living the story. I really genuinely feel like I knew Lisa and when I read the line "She's gone" I cried. The imagery that Tom Batiuk used to portray her dying was incredible because it's like saying that we don't know where exactly we go when we die or whose face we're going to see on the other side, but it's comforting in a way and when she said "I love you" as her last words, talk about rip your heart out. I also love Summer and how she reacted to her mommy being sick and then her passing, it definetly reminds you of the innocence of a child. You also feel so bad for Les losing Lisa like that after being by her side and sometimes you forget that it's not just the woman going through it, but it affects the whole family. Bravo to Tom for having him stick by her through the whole ordeal. I highly recommend anyone male or female to buy this story, it's like making a new friend that you can see anytime and grieve with. Also, if you're going through it or know someone who is, it helps you to understand how they are feeling and know that you're not alone. BRAVO TOM BATIUK, you're story of Lisa is very inspiring!!!!!
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