The novel is set in 1967 and 1968, first in Mobile, Alabama and then at Indiana University in Bloomington. However, the story is in no way a 1960s political novel. Vietnam barely gets mentioned. The themes are infidelity, sibling rivalry, deception, self-deception, separation, and miscommunication.

The two main characters are Elizabeth Nye, a 20-year-old German major, and Brian Petersen, the 27-year-old history teaching assistant with whom she has a five-week affair while she's temporarily separated from her liberal-minded fiancé, Alan Abrams.

Elizabeth is dishonest and selfish while Brian is naive and idealistic, but virtually no one in this story is either all good or all bad. That's what makes them people rather than stereotypes.

Minor and cameo characters include Elizabeth's self-indulgent academic father, her sexy younger sister, a not-so-merry widowed neighbor, Brian's excessively beloved older sister, his pined-after lost love, that woman's life-hardened lesbian roommate, and a gay friend of Elizabeth's.

The narrative technique involves the use of several different points of view. A given scene may allow the reader to see the same action from starkly contrasting points of view. This reinforces the overarching theme of the book, which is the unending difficulty of human communication.

A play in one act, in which the transparent characters – Glenn, Glenda, Gladwin, and Glennis Glass – offer their opinions on such weighty philosophical matters as being half full or half empty, accepting oneself as one comes from the Great Factory, the restricted lives of their costlier neighbors in the locked china cabinet, the fate of an unfortunate cousin with a glass jaw, and much more.

"Be informed. Be empowered. Be well."

If you are concerned that the cancer in your family is hereditary, you face difficult choices. Should you have a blood test that may reveal whether you have a high likelihood of disease? Do you preemptively treat a disease that may never develop? How do you make decisions now that will affect the rest of your life? This helpful, informative guide answers your questions as you confront hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.

Developed by Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE), the nation’s only nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting families affected by hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, this book stands alone among breast and ovarian cancer resources. Equal parts health guide and memoir, it defines complex issues facing previvors and survivors and provides solutions with a fresh, authoritative voice.

Written by three passionate advocates for the hereditary cancer community who are themselves breast cancer survivors, Confronting Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer dispels myths and misinformation and presents practical risk-reducing alternatives and decision-making tools. Including information about genetic counseling and testing, preventive surgery, and fertility and family planning, as well as explanations of health insurance coverage and laws protecting genetic privacy, this resource tackles head-on the challenges of living in a high-risk body.

Confronting hereditary cancer is a complex, confusing, and highly individual journey. With its unique combination of the latest research, expert advice, and compelling personal stories, this book gives previvors, survivors, and their family members the guidance they need to face the unique challenges of hereditary cancer.

Every woman fears breast cancer. Whether you have just been diagnosed or waiting to hear results, your first challenge is figuring out where to start this fight. This book is a simple guide to help breast cancer patients find their way on the treatment journey and to empower them in making treatment decisions. It is meant to serve as an easy-to-understand reference guide for women who are worried about breast cancer or who have been diagnosed recently with breast cancer. Under the current health care system, physicians often don’t have enough time available to sit with a newly diagnosed breast cancer patient and explain all that they want to, and often patients don’t remember the details of what is discussed because of the emotional turmoil of having a cancer diagnosis. This book is not meant to teach all there is about breast cancer, but to be a simple resource for women (and men) to have a solid starting point in their fight against breast cancer and something they can refer back to when making decisions regarding treatment.

A breast cancer diagnosis feels like “a punch in the stomach,” but this insightful book by cancer survivor Melanie Young will help you navigate the rough waters ahead, giving you the education and insight you need to stay sane, focused, and in charge. A passionate traveler, Melanie helps you deftly navigate the trip you didn’t plan for: your journey through Cancer Land. She arms you with the right questions to ask, handy checklists to keep organized, and savvy survivor tips to keep you looking and feeling your best every step of the way. It’s like having a breast cancer mentor right by your side, helping you plan for the road ahead and giving you empowering advice at every turn.

With disarming candor, Melanie discusses everything from medical jargon to implants:

How to create a health management plan, with ideas for a record-keeping system that will help you organize medical visits and tests while still allowing you to have optimal healthHow to manage diet and health prior to surgery to give you the best possible surgical outcome. (Melanie is also a longtime food professional and certified integrative nutrition health coach.)How to make wise decisions about your caregiver relationships—everything from choosing the best oncologist to communicating with loved ones about your diagnosisWhat to expect with treatment, including insights about lumpectomy, mastectomy, and lymphedemaThe pros and cons of different implant, prosthesis, and breast reconstruction optionsTips for optimal health after your surgery and during chemotherapy and radiationIdeas for keeping yourself looking your best, including thoughts on wigs, makeup, and fashion choices

There is only one aspect of your cancer you’ll have no control over, and that is the diagnosis itself. This road map will help arm you for the battle ahead as you make smart, confident choices. Melanie will be your ally as you turn your breast cancer diagnosis into an opportunity to learn how fearless and fabulous you really are.

What do I do now? Why am I still so tired? Am I really cured? How do I reduce my risk of recurrence? Is it safe for me to get pregnant? How do I get rid of the hot flashes so I can sleep?  

This fully revised and updated second edition contains crucial information about these issues and more—including the revolutionary medical advances in follow-up testing, ongoing treatments, and recovery. With answers for everything from how to deal with hair loss and weight gain to finding online support groups and understanding healthy foods and supplements, Living Well Beyond Breast Cancer contains a greater depth and breadth of information in its enhanced chapters—plus all-new chapters that cover current treatment options and preventative tips for those at high risk for developing breast cancer.

Enhanced Chapters:
•    Tests: Peer, Poke, and Prod
•    After Mastectomy: Re-creating a Breast with or Without Surgery
•    Intimacy, Sex, and Your Love Life: Relieving Discomfort and Increasing Libido
•    A Child in Your Future: Fertility, Pregnancy, and Adoption
•    Reducing Your Risk: Living Well

All-New Information:
•    Pre-Survivors: Risks and Prevention
•    Thinking and Remembering: Clearing the Fog and Sharpening Your Mind
•    Bone Health: Weakness Explained and Strengthening Exercises
•    Sleep: Restoration and Renewal
 
With this book as your guide, you’ll have the tools not just to live beyond breast cancer, but to live well and well beyond this challenge in your life!


From the Trade Paperback edition.

More than 100,000 American women undergo mastectomy and breast reconstruction every year because of breast cancer. Thousands more are having double mastectomies to prevent it. So much has been written about breast cancer, and so much overlooks the reality of reconstruction when a woman has a mastectomy and opts for this process. It is difficult, painful, and traumatizing at times. Most women do not emerge with a new set of breasts and nipples in a single operation. Breast reconstruction usually takes months and can take years to finish. Some women never do, living without nipples or with imperfect results. Others opt not to have reconstruction at all. Still others struggle with one of the biggest women’s health questions today: lumpectomy and radiation or mastectomy?

Breast Cancer Surgery and Reconstruction offers a glimpse into the big picture of the various stages and types of breast reconstruction using stories and photos of real women. It offers a true picture of what breast reconstruction entails, and offers hope to those facing it. This is a book to help women with a variety of issues surrounding their choices, with powerful insights from women who have been there.

The novel is set in 1967 and 1968, first in Mobile, Alabama and then at Indiana University in Bloomington. However, the story is in no way a 1960s political novel. Vietnam barely gets mentioned. The themes are infidelity, sibling rivalry, deception, self-deception, separation, and miscommunication.

The two main characters are Elizabeth Nye, a 20-year-old German major, and Brian Petersen, the 27-year-old history teaching assistant with whom she has a five-week affair while she's temporarily separated from her liberal-minded fiancé, Alan Abrams.

Elizabeth is dishonest and selfish while Brian is naive and idealistic, but virtually no one in this story is either all good or all bad. That's what makes them people rather than stereotypes.

Minor and cameo characters include Elizabeth's self-indulgent academic father, her sexy younger sister, a not-so-merry widowed neighbor, Brian's excessively beloved older sister, his pined-after lost love, that woman's life-hardened lesbian roommate, and a gay friend of Elizabeth's.

The narrative technique involves the use of several different points of view. A given scene may allow the reader to see the same action from starkly contrasting points of view. This reinforces the overarching theme of the book, which is the unending difficulty of human communication.

A play in one act, in which the transparent characters – Glenn, Glenda, Gladwin, and Glennis Glass – offer their opinions on such weighty philosophical matters as being half full or half empty, accepting oneself as one comes from the Great Factory, the restricted lives of their costlier neighbors in the locked china cabinet, the fate of an unfortunate cousin with a glass jaw, and much more.