Reviews for
Dear Sister Survivor...
Reviews from Barnes and Noble
A positive book by a brave author
‘Dear Sister Survivor…’ is a refreshingly honest account of a modern day woman dealing with breast cancer. The author tells her story via a series of letters intended for those in a similar situation, interwoven with some of the best poetry I’ve read in a while. Her style is frank and open, courageous in sharing her inner most thoughts about the everyday impacts, and generous in reaching out and offering genuine support and hope to other women. The poems are poignant yet humorous, especially ‘Uninvited; I’m the Queen (about shopping at Costco); and Painted Red (her lipstick). You can dip in and out of this book, revisit it, and take comfort, laughs and tears. For me, the most surprising aspect of this book is close to the end where the author shares her simple yet powerful philosophy on living with cancer. Thank you Mara Nieman-Hargroder!
The Book Was A Wonderfully Easy Read
It is a message of hope, resiliency, and faith. Although the book speaks specifically to women who have been touched by breast cancer directly or indirectly, the message could really be applied to anyone, anywhere with any struggle they may be faced with. It is a raw look at breast cancer through the eyes of the author. She minces no words about the struggles of this horrible disease from all angles. She is an inspiration to all.
I Am So Touched By Mara's Book.
As the daughter of a breast cancer survivor, and a therapist who has been a witness to many, many cancer stories, this book is so important. Mara has given all of us affected by cancer a beautiful way to connect to her experience, which is so close to our collective experience. She has a way of giving the reader a felt sense that no one is alone, which springs from her own vulnerability. One of my favorite parts of this book is Mara's way of honoring the coping strategies each person has and needs to have to survive, without judgment. Thank you Mara for this lovely book.
Mara knows how it feels
Mara Nieman-Hargroder knows how it feels to be ashamed to look in the mirror, while at the same time feeling guilty for the vanity of that shame. She knows what it’s like to be grabbed by the ankles and pulled underwater, and also what it’s like to emerge from the depths out-of-breath but still breathing. For Mara-Nieman Hargroder is a survivor—and more importantly a sister, one you didn’t know you had. She is a lifeline to hold onto when the tentacles of diagnosis and treatment drag you under.
Ms Nieman-Hargroder’s new book, “Dear Sister Survivor…the Ribbon Between Us” is one for the ages, a definitive work in the genre of breast cancer literature. This year (and for many years to come) millions of seemingly healthy women will be get the news from their physicians that they are “her”, the one they’d seen in the waiting room and prayed they’d never be. Thus will begin the “new normal” where something as common as a cold is as serious as as a death-match with a hooded, knife-wielding attacker.
Using the things of everyday life, she rips his mask off: Wigs, red lipstick, blue hormone pills, lava cake, even tears, become defensive weapons. Husbands, friends, colleagues, become an auxiliary unit drafted to help in the fight. Cancer feeds on self-abnegation, so Ms Nieman-Hargroder exhorts us to make radiation treatment just a brief interlude in a day full of self-indulgence; we are to be Costco Queens who yell, “Off with his head!”.
As an added bonus, the author has included a dozen original poems, many of which are appended to the chapters as text-enhancements. Here she is incarnated as a shaman who answers cancer’s power with the power of incantation. With this power we swim faster than we sink, eventually dragging ourselves onto dry land to kiss the sand of recovery. Next to us, also kissing the sand, is Mara Nieman-Hargroder; she swam alongside of us all the way.
Where do I begin?
I knew that I would be embarking on an emotional ride when I started this book, but I did not realize that along with the sorrow and shock and loss, that there would be this overwhelming sense of hope and joy and sisterhood that breaks through in the words of encouragement and support that Mara offers through her honest and raw writing. She deeply cares for her sisters and envelopes what it means to have empathy for others. Although I am not a sister survivor I was deeply moved by the letters and poems, and I highly recommend this book to any reader. And what a beautiful gift that the proceeds go to cancer research. Thank you Mara for sharing your journey, and your encouragement.... You are precious.
I Love, Love, Love This Book
Although I have not suffered the trials of a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment I find Mara's words soothing for any calamity in life. She is a gifted woman and I admire her deeply for taking on the challenge of this subject. I read one letter a day and keep the book at my bedside.
