The Cancer Whisperer: Finding Courage, Direction, and the Unlikely Gifts of Cancer

In 2014, Sophie Sabbage learned she had incurable lung cancer. Doctors consigned her to a likely death and said that her remaining time must revolve around treatments to extend her life and reduce her suffering. But when Sabbage learned more about treatments for terminal cancer--how all-consuming and painful they would be, and how they would rule her remaining time--she decided to make living meaningfully her priority over treatment. This involved creating resources for herself that would support her physical, spiritual and mental wellbeing. At the core was how she could retain her personhood, something she felt that medical treatments had stripped from her--the difference between being a patient and being a person. In writing The Cancer Whisperer, Sabbage aims to reach people diagnosed with cancer who want to be treated as "dignified, empowered human being[s]."

Sabbage divides her book into nine sections, with topics that include dealing with the shock that accompanies a diagnosis; how to ask self-reflective questions for living with cancer; how to deal with the numerous suggested diets; and figuring out ways to stabilize one's body following aggressive treatments. Sabbage approaches the topic with a firm resolve to empower readers in establishing their own purpose and autonomy. She combats the idea that surviving cancer is the cornerstone of success, and argues that preserving personhood throughout one's life is more important. In this way, her goal is not to outrun her prognosis but rather continue to live consciously. The Cancer Whisperer does not purport to offer magical cures or miraculous recoveries; instead, it delivers to readers a greater gift, one of transformation. --Justus Joseph, bookseller at Elliott Bay Book Company