Book Description
Cancer Dreams is the story, told by a pediatrician, of his wife's battle with breast cancer. Along the way, we meet children he has cared for with cancer, and their families who watched them suffer. We are also introduced to loved ones of the doctor and his wife who suffered the scourge of cancer. Ultimately, though, the book delivers the message that cancer need not be an ending, but a beginning, filled with new hopes and dreams. Several chapters in this book have either won prizes, or have been published independently. Jesse Miller had this to say about the first chapter, "Calling." He judged it a winner in a university competition: "I chose "Calling" because it's such a powerful story about love and sorrow. I was moved by the subject matter and the well-constructed scenes that vividly brought these situations to life." The second chapter, Champion, was published in 2009, in Chicken Soup for the Soul, The Cancer Book. The next to last chapter,"Recalling," won first place in a university competition. The judge, Richard McDonough, made the following comment about the story. "This works well because of the rhythms and sense of verisimilitude. It is easy to identify with ... substitute any health ptoblem and strong emotional/historical bond ... and most readers over thirty will find a connection. But that connection and a dime ... as was said in ancient times ... will get you a phone call. How you explore that connection with language is what "tells the story." This story got told right. Conversational; good. Imagining the worst ... baldness covered by a cap ... is perfect. The worst dreams come back to haunt you ... everyone has one in one part of life or another. So the verisimilitude is there. The sentences scan. There is no forcedness, no falseness. It works." '
