Search This Blog
April Reviews Link-Up
May Reviews Link-Up
June Reviews Link-Up
July Reviews Link-Up
August Reviews Link-Up
September Reviews Link-Up
October Reviews Link-Up
November Reviews Link-Up
December Reviews Link-Up
2024 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California (3)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland
- Massachusetts (1)
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (1)
- North Carolina (1)
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (1)
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia (1)
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.*
International:
- Australia (1)
- Canada (1)
- England (5)
- France (1)
- Ireland (1)
- Scotland (1)
- The Netherlands (1)
2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
Friday, March 06, 2015
This Star Won't Go Out: Surviving Thyroid Cancer is Almost Guaranteed—Except When It Isn't
1:00 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
When I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer back in 2009, I heard a lot of people say, "Well, if you have to have cancer, that's the best kind to have." This is true. With a survival rate of 97-100%, it's a whole lot more common to survive it than otherwise. There are, however, exceptions. Like Ester Earl, a 12-year-old girl from Massachusetts, who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2006. Four years later, it killed her.
Famous because of her friendship with popular YA author John Green (although The Fault in Our Stars is not based on Ester's life, it is dedicated to her), Ester became known for her bubbly personality, her positive outlook on life, and her courage in the face of a devastating illness. She was a prolific writer, crafting many journal entries, as well as stories and letters, in her short life. These pieces, along with some of Ester's sketches, many photos, and essays from family and friends have been collected into a thick, inspiring book titled This Star Won't Go Out. Published last year, it quickly became a New York Times bestseller. My 13-year-old daughter begged me to get it for her for Christmas because it's one of her all-time favorite books.
Although This Star Won't Go Out has been touching people's hearts for awhile now, I only read it a few months ago. For a book about a kid with cancer, it's surprisingly upbeat. It's also heartfelt, affecting, and deserving of the hype it's received. Ester's writing emphasizes the fragility of life and the importance of holding on to faith, family, friends, and hope when trials come into your life. As someone whose world has been changed forever by thyroid cancer, I appreciated these words of wisdom that helped me remember never to take life for granted. It's an important message delivered by a talented writer who continues to share her experiences for the good of others (see tswgo.org).
(Readalikes: Hm, nothing comes to mind except The Fault in Our Stars by John Green)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for brief, mild language (no F-bombs), mild sexual innuendo, and intense subject matter
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
Subscribe to:
Posts
(Atom)
Reading
Listening
Followin' with Bloglovin'
-
Top 5 Tuesday ~ Green Books1 hour ago
-
-
Top Ten Tuesday-Spring Into Books2 hours ago
-
Top Ten Tuesday3 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
Top Ten Tuesday: Spring TBR | 20246 hours ago
-
TTT – Books On My Spring 2024 TBR7 hours ago
-
-
Daily Prompt 18 March monday11 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
Books from the Backlog #81 day ago
-
-
Don’t Foget Me by Rea Frey1 day ago
-
-
-
Sunday Post3 days ago
-
-
Timeline by Michael Crichton3 days ago
-
33. Ferris4 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Witch Hat Atelier: Kitchen, Volume 11 week ago
-
Catching up1 week ago
-
Review: Dating Dr. Dil1 week ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?5 months ago
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra8 months ago
-
-
-
Sundays with Sam – The Sunday Post11 months ago
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
Grab my Button!
Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ▼ 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ► 2013 (183)
- ► 2012 (193)
- ► 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)