The Victoria's Secret Catalog Never Stops Coming: And Other Lessons I Learned From Breast Cancer - Hardcover

Nash, Jennie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0743219791 ISBN 13: 9780743219792

Publisher: Scribner, 2001

Synopsis

Breast cancer made Jennie Nash a wise old woman at the age of thirty-six. She learned, among other things, that her instincts are good, her kids are really resilient, and that, in the fight against breast cancer, the journey for patients, family, and friends can be a surprisingly positive, life-changing experience.
Some five years younger than the AMA-recommended age for mammograms, Jennie Nash insisted she be tested, not because of a lump but because of a hunch brought on by a friend's battle with lung cancer. Jennie was as shocked to discover as her friend had been that cancer knows no age limits.
From detection and surgery to reconstruction and recovery, Jennie gives readers a road map for a journey no one chooses to take. She details both the large and small lessons learned along the way: the importance of a child's birthday cake; the pleasure of wearing a beautiful, provocative red dress; how to be grateful rather than guilty when someone brings lasagne to the door; and that sometimes the only difference between getting to live and having to die is luck.
A celebration of survival, Jennie Nash's account transforms one of life's most harrowing experiences into a story of reassurance and enlightenment.

About this title

Review:

Touching and courageous, The Victoria's Secret Catalog Never Stops Coming blends the medical realities of breast cancer with the wise and thoughtful opinions of author Jennie Nash. Nash shares every step of her experience with breast cancer, from the first mammogram to the final reconstructive surgery, in a series of "lessons" that divide chapters into stories that are equally meaningful to survivors and their friends and families. While many of the individual stories are sad, taken as whole this is an ultimately positive book--Nash survives with her health and family intact and is spared harrowing chemo and further metastasizing. Her lessons range from "bad news does less damage when it's shared" to "caregivers are human," and are illustrated with deeply personal stories of sobbing telephone messages, family arguments, and never-ending streams of frozen casseroles. The last lesson, "make the experience matter," revolves around Nash's first breast-cancer walk as a survivor, though it could just as easily revolve around the writing of this book, as it is sure to make a welcome difference in the lives of countless women. --Jill Lightner

About the Author:

Jennie Nash is the author of Altared States: Surviving the Engagement. She has written for dozens of national magazines, including Glamour, Mademoiselle, and The New York Times Magazine. She lives with her husband and two young daughters in Torrance, California.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scribner
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0743219791
• ISBN 13: 9780743219792
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160