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begquilter's review against another edition
5.0
This book was beautifully written. It has given me a lot to think about when thinking about how to live my life. The way she shows how she approached the end of hers is truly inspiring.
sunset8305's review against another edition
4.0
Such a well written memoir, of a young adult woman who battled so many odds to survive childhood, only to face Stage IV colon cancer in her late 30s. This is a reflection of a life well lived, with continued focus during her last years, months, days and hours on the things that mattered most to her - family, friends, education and spirituality.
caffeinated_cassade's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
This memoir was stellar. Julie made me feel to be one of her friends. I was there with her throughout her journey. My heart ached the entire way through. I don’t even have proper words to really fully express how I feel after finishing this book.
kirstenrose22's review against another edition
5.0
Julie was a friend of a friend; I never met her.
This is dark and intense. I had to read it in little chunks, so I wouldn’t get overwhelmed. I especially liked her attacks on what she called the “hope industrial complex.” I so admire her honesty, even when it gets dark and brutal. She must have been really amazing.
This is dark and intense. I had to read it in little chunks, so I wouldn’t get overwhelmed. I especially liked her attacks on what she called the “hope industrial complex.” I so admire her honesty, even when it gets dark and brutal. She must have been really amazing.
jmrprice's review against another edition
4.0
Poignant and yet so vibrant.
Reaffirms that cancer is anything but fair.
Received as a Goodreads giveaway.
Reaffirms that cancer is anything but fair.
Received as a Goodreads giveaway.
acardattack's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
4.0
Good, moving and powerful. Even though it was important to her, and I guess her journey and story, I didn't care for her early life before coming to America
cheekylaydee's review against another edition
4.0
OK be ready with the tissues by the end of this one, as Julie Yip-Williams takes us on the emotional rollercoaster that has been her life.
Surviving attempted infantcide, blindness, and a harrowing journey across the seas as a refugee of Vietnam Julie has finally gotten through her trials, has a loving husband and two children, a career as a lawyer, financial stability only to be struck down with colon cancer at the age of 37.
Everything that Julie is thinking and feeling is laid bare on the page with a startling honesty that leaves you reeling. This isn't a woman who wants to be a martyr,.She is in turns angry, upset self-pitying and above all honest about what she is going through. There's no holding back it is a brutal and honest account of a relentless and exhausting battle with cancer and Julie tells it with a rawness that is rare in other books of this kind. While not being able to empathise I appreciated her no holds barred approach to her narrative. Not many books make me cry and maybe I'm just a little emotional right now but this one had me in tears at the end. It made me wish I had known this extraordinary woman, and I felt that within these pages, I got a little glimpse of who she was.
Please read this book, it's extraordinary.
Surviving attempted infantcide, blindness, and a harrowing journey across the seas as a refugee of Vietnam Julie has finally gotten through her trials, has a loving husband and two children, a career as a lawyer, financial stability only to be struck down with colon cancer at the age of 37.
Everything that Julie is thinking and feeling is laid bare on the page with a startling honesty that leaves you reeling. This isn't a woman who wants to be a martyr,.She is in turns angry, upset self-pitying and above all honest about what she is going through. There's no holding back it is a brutal and honest account of a relentless and exhausting battle with cancer and Julie tells it with a rawness that is rare in other books of this kind. While not being able to empathise I appreciated her no holds barred approach to her narrative. Not many books make me cry and maybe I'm just a little emotional right now but this one had me in tears at the end. It made me wish I had known this extraordinary woman, and I felt that within these pages, I got a little glimpse of who she was.
Please read this book, it's extraordinary.