Cancerwords

Ellyn Peirson

Summary

Poetry is the only way to touch upon the experience of cancer. It is also the only way to find beauty in the beastliness. And for me, it was the only way to express my grief and allow healing into my life.
 
cancerwords is a record of Glenn Peirson's three year battle with a rare sinus cancer. Diagnosed at stage 4, Glenn did his elegant utmost to stay here for his wife and children, the joys of his life. As mother of this remarkable man for all seasons, I was seized by a need to write poetry and take photos on my prayer-walks. These media became my prayer forms. For me, they reached through the madness to a silence where pain is transformed into resilience. I was sustained, and enabled to be what Glenn, Mary, Theodora and Henry needed me to be.
 
It is my hope that this book will speak to others, particularly parents. I learned that I could survive what I had always said I couldn't, and learned that I will never cease to be wondrously proud of and inexplicably connected to my son, in whatever dimension he happens to be. And I learned that artistry is the soul of healing. There is a way for everyone. This is mine.
 
A profoundly moving journey through one man's battle with cancer, cancerwords is a sharply articulated and devastatingly raw story of grief and healing.

Available since: 02/04/2022.

Other books that might interest you

The Education of Augie Merasty

Joseph Auguste Merasty, David...

Named the fourth most important “Book of the Year” by the National Post in 2015 and voted “One Book/One Province” in Saskatchewan for 2017, The Education of Augie Merasty launched on the front page of The Globe and Mail to become a national bestseller and an instant classic.
		 
A courageous and intimate memoir, The Education of Augie Merasty is the story of a child who faced the dark heart of humanity, let loose by the cruel policies of a bigoted nation. 
A retired fisherman and trapper who sometimes lived rough on the streets, Augie Merasty was one of an estimated 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Metis children who were taken from their families and sent to government-funded, church-run schools, where they were subjected to a policy of aggressive assimilation.
		 
As Augie recounts, these schools did more than attempt to mould children in the ways of white society. They were taught to be ashamed of their heritage and, as he experienced, often suffered physical and sexual abuse. 
But even as he looks back on this painful part of his childhood, Merasty's sense of humour and warm voice shine through. 
“In this book I have seen horror through eyes of a child.” — James Daschuk, author of Clearing the Plains
		 
“A story in which our entire nation has an obscure and dark complicity.” — David Carpenter, co-author of The Education of Augie Merasty and author of The Gold and other books
		 
Bespeak Audio Editions brings Canadian voices to the world with audiobook editions of some of the country’s greatest works of literature, performed by Canadian actors.

Show book

Diary of a Secret Drug Addict:...

Secret Drug Addict

What is an addict?  
Why do some people become one?  
How can I recover from addiction?  
Growing up in a fractious and dysfunctional family, life wasn’t easy for the Secret Drug Addict. By the time he was 29, the chronic and intensive drug abuse threatened to not only end his career but also his life. 
After finally entering rehabilitation and various therapy programmes, he managed to find his way out of addiction and began to live with sobriety, in recovery, one day at a time. 
This is his story, and this book is for anyone who is struggling with addiction or thinks they might have a problem. It is a book for family and friends who live with the real-life consequences of addiction and want to know more about the illness and where and how to get help. 
nan

Show book

Think You'll Be Happy - Moving...

Nicole Avant

A NATIONAL BESTSELLER!
“Nicole Avant gives a raw and courageous look into how she found the light in her darkest moment. She reminds us that grief is different for everyone, and we have the power to move through it in our own unique way.” —Cleo Wade, New York Times Bestselling Author
“A love song to a great woman told through the eyes of the great woman she created.”—Tyler Perry
The USA Today bestseller, a spirit-lifting memoir on how to turn pain into purpose, how to live always in gratitude, and how to face down tragedy and turn it into love.
Nicole Avant—diplomat, philanthropist, filmmaker—grew up surrounded by some of the most extraordinary artists of our time: Bill Withers, Oprah Winfrey, Quincy Jones, Sidney Poitier. Her parents—entertainment mogul, Clarence Avant, and legendary philanthropist, Jacqueline Avant—turned their home into a place of refuge and inspiration for a generation of geniuses. Nicole drew on that magical upbringing to create a stellar career in the music business, become the U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas, and produce critically acclaimed award-winning films and documentaries. Then, an unthinkable tragedy struck: her mother was fatally shot in December 2021.
In this searing and inspiring memoir, Nicole turns the pain of her family’s loss into the fuel that pushes her forward into an even more committed life of love and activism: “We can’t banish evil,” she writes. “We have to learn to swim through trauma and live for all of those who can’t.” Turning tragedy into inspiration, Think You’ll Be Happy—her mom’s last words to Nicole—provides a roadmap for anyone working to remain positive and anchored in hope.

Show book

So Long as It's Wild - Standing...

Barbara Jenkins

From the New York Times bestselling co-author of The Walk West comes Barbara Jenkins' long-awaited tale, revealing the story of her walk across America, a journey that captured the national media spotlight. From the untold narrative of her impoverished Ozarks hillbilly upbringing, to the crushing aftermath of the walk and her journey toward newfound courage and strength, So Long As It’s Wild is her story. 
As a child growing up in the wild beauty of the Ozarks, Barbara often spent her days exploring outside and daydreaming of faraway places in order to escape a life of poverty. She longed to trade her homemade clothes and outdoor toilet for spectacular adventures around the world. That chance came in the form of a wild-eyed, long-haired “viking” young man named Peter. 
After an exciting courtship and a wedding on a dime, the young couple departed on foot from New Orleans on July 5, 1976, heading toward the Pacific Coast. News of the couple’s expedition spread like wildfire, landing them on the cover of National Geographic Magazine and in countless other publications. Soon after beginning their nearly three-year journey, Barbara realized the funny, adventure-seeking, charismatic man she married was not the loving partner she thought, but she was well down the rocky path to the Oregon coast by his side. 
Despite the newfound fame and the bestsellers she coauthored, The Walk West and The Road Unseen, Barbara’s side of the story of that infamous walk was left in the shadows. International fame and good fortune followed until it evaporated into a trail of heartbreak, a thousand deaths, and my disappearance.” 
With lyrical, transportive prose, So Long as It’s Wild: Standing Strong After My Famous Walk Across America is one woman’s tale, stepping out from the mountain of the man she had followed, to find her voice and claim her story.

Show book

The Fall of the Monarchy - The...

Amara Blackwood

The Ancien Régime, the political and social system that governed France for centuries, was built on a rigid hierarchy that concentrated power in the hands of the monarchy and nobility. This structure, deeply rooted in tradition, relied on the divine right of kings, reinforcing the belief that the king’s authority was absolute and unquestionable. King Louis XVI, like his predecessors, ruled with the assumption that his word was law, but by the late 18th century, the very foundations of this system were beginning to crumble. Economic hardship, social inequality, and growing discontent among the people exposed the fragility of a monarchy that had long ignored the demands of change.
At the heart of the Ancien Régime was the Estates System, which divided French society into three distinct groups. The First Estate consisted of the clergy, who enjoyed vast privileges, including exemption from most taxes. The Second Estate was made up of the nobility, who held significant land and influence while also being largely free from taxation. The Third Estate, which comprised the vast majority of the population, included peasants, urban workers, and the emerging bourgeoisie. This group bore the heaviest tax burden while having little political power, a reality that bred resentment and a growing desire for reform.
The economic struggles of France further weakened the monarchy’s stability. Years of extravagant spending by the royal court, particularly under King Louis XV and Louis XVI, had left the country in financial ruin. The lavish expenditures of Queen Marie Antoinette, though exaggerated in popular discourse, became a symbol of royal excess. Additionally, France’s costly involvement in the American Revolution had drained the treasury, deepening the crisis. By the 1780s, the government faced an insurmountable debt, and repeated attempts to impose new taxes on the privileged classes were met with fierce resistance.

Show book

Hank Show The: Book Summary &...

Alexander Pike

This content is an independent and unofficial summary created for informational and educational purposes only. It is not affiliated with, authorized, approved, licensed, or endorsed by the original author or publisher. All rights to the original work belong to its respective copyright holders. This summary is not intended to substitute the original book, but to offer a concise overview and interpretation of its main ideas.
 


 
What if the most powerful man in data surveillance wasn’t a government agent—but a former drug smuggler with a genius for code?
 
The Hank Show unravels the incredible true story of Hank Asher, a self-invented tech visionary whose fingerprints helped shape the world of digital surveillance. From flying cocaine-filled planes over the Caribbean to building billion-dollar data empires used by law enforcement and corporate giants alike, Hank’s life is a high-stakes tale of ambition, reinvention, and moral complexity.
 
This audiobook blends gripping biography with sharp investigative insight, charting how one man’s tools came to power everything from government intelligence to consumer profiling—long before Silicon Valley took over our lives. Both thrilling and deeply reflective, it explores the intersection of data, privacy, influence, and the consequences of building systems without accountability.

Show book