Category Archives: Death

STAYING ALIVE

We are hurtling toward the Christmas holiday; Hanukkah began last night. But the sun is warming us in what feels like another extended summer. As my son grows, will he ever know the joy of a snowy winter morning? Humans … Continue reading

Posted in adoption, Death, fellow fighters, running | 1 Comment

from revolution to evolution: belated thanks to the boys

Four years ago, I wrote with some fairly measured seriousness about the transcendent experience of finally seeing U2, my favorite band of 30 years, up close. At that moment, I was still living in the relatively immediate shadow of my … Continue reading

Posted in cycling, Death, Life After Cancer, music | Leave a comment

THIS; NOW

When I was diagnosed with cancer seven years ago, I inevitably became preoccupied with my own mortality.  The vibrant immediacy of the life I had been living before the moment of my diagnosis was eclipsed by the terrifying reality that … Continue reading

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a cat, and cancer’s complicating curse

Last week, we put our first pet to sleep.  Gracie the orange tabby was with us for over ten years – through 9/11, our wedding, the arrival of Lucy the basset hound, cancer…the list goes on.  For a few weeks … Continue reading

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fight club

It’s no accident that I haven’t written since my ovarian sister Sarah Feather passed away last month.  I see now how she served as some kind of reference point for me, as if every time I sent my words out to … Continue reading

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dear sarah

Dear Sarah, You have taught me so many things over the years – years that have unfolded with laughter and tears, with shared emotions, with rocks climbed.  Now, you are teaching me how to say goodbye to someone I have … Continue reading

Posted in Death, fellow fighters | Tagged | 3 Comments

echo chamber

Words have never come with greater difficulty than they have in the weeks following the death of a fellow young adult cancer warrior with whom I shared an essential but hard to define connection.  I didn’t know her well, but … Continue reading

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chris ward blumer, fallen angel

I want to talk about my friend Chris, who died earlier this week.  She and I connected early on in my days on Planet Cancer; she was newly diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic colon cancer when I was undergoing treatment … Continue reading

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inarticulate speech of the heart

I woke this morning with a singular focus:  take a nice long run, hopefully my longest yet, to start the day.  For the past two weeks, I have been fighting a losing battle with the cold and dark, and have … Continue reading

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when hope is all we have: elizabeth edwards remembered

Everyone has been writing tributes to Elizabeth Edwards over the last twenty-four hours.  The grief which I felt upon learning of her death yesterday was likely no greater than that of anyone else who admired her but never knew her personally.  But it may … Continue reading

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