Customer Reviews

Another Morning: Voices of Truth and Hope from Mothers with Cancer

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I have had the privilege of being a volunteer listener with the Mothers Living Stories Project since its inception. When people ask me if it is depressing to do this work, I look at them with disbelief. In a society that can reduce itself to crass materialism and a need for instant gratification, the relationships that I developed with the mothers that I interviewed have truly been antidotal. I am reminded of what is real and what is possible. I see the indominatable spirit of love. I've learned to understand that death is always a full player in our lives and how we relate to that fact has a great deal to do with the quality of life that we enjoy (or don't). Most importantly, it has allowed me to be helpful to someone who is in need in a very personal manner.
Linda Blachman's book has captured the heart and hope that these mothers demonstrate over and over again. It is written for all of us who want to be reminded of the depths of the human heart and the fullness of love that we are designed to experience.
It is inspiring and brilliantly conceived and written.

Another Morning is a poignant and inspiring book about mothers coping with cancer. Linda Blachman has woven together a collection of true stories and anecdotes from the many women she has interviewed who are living with cancer. A must read for any mother or child dealing with cancer, this refreshing book is real, gritty, wise, and inspiring. I wholeheartedly reccomend it!

Linda Blachman's finely crafted storytelling -- and the lives of the mothers whose stories she shares -- taught me more about my own life than I had dreamed would be possible. I found myself moved to tears, again and again -- tears
of joy and gratitude as often as tears of sympathy and compassion. This is not a book about death, but a book about the challenges we all face, and will face, as we make our way through this thing called life.

First, I must tell you to consider the source: I tend to be more than a little cynical of collected personal histories. Too many times the personal stories are twisted by the writer into a plea for some specific cause or belief. Linda Blachman's "Another Morning: Stories of Truth and Hope from Mothers with Cancer" is a remarkable exception. Maintaining a compassionate distance, Blachman allows each mother to tell her story not only with her own words but with her open heart. The result is a series of characters who take the book far beyond the limits of its subtitle. This is also about hurt, anger, acceptance, love, and the overwhelming human necessity of storytelling. Blachman's voice and ideas are always clear but never overshadow these extraordinary women. This book is not only for the mothers and their children, it is also for the ages.

I have given copies of this book to two friends with recurrent breast cancer and am recommending it to all my friends who DON'T have cancer. Over 20 years ago, Linda Blachman and I were in a post partum support group together. This was one of the first places I experienced the healing that comes from talking to others who were genuinely LISTENING. When I read this book, I was struck by two things: 1) the honesty and emotional depth of the women dealing with questions of life and death that we all face, and 2) the masterful listening of Linda and her project volunteers, who opened themselves to hear the stories beneath the stories. This book has much to give to anyone who is willing to listen.

The Mother's Living Stories Project, led by author Linda Blachman, is portrayed in this wonderful book through the voices of the mothers who live with cancer while raising children. Each story teaches and touches the reader, and allows a subject, the potential loss of the mother, to have voice. This is not only a book for women with cancer, but for partners, parents, friends, and anyone who wants to be able to enter into, and take away truth and hope.
Michael Leaver

Linda Blachman has written a really important book for mothers with cancer. Hearing the voices of other women is incredibly important for anyone who has struggled with this disease. This is a unique book that meets an urgent need.

A great and compassionate book of hope and strength amid a trying illness, which hits home because my wife has breast cancer. This book nurtures the soul rather than clutters the mind with more information.

I was able to listen to Linda Blachman at an author reading in Menlo Park. I was struck with her personal history of dealing with pain and of being a mother while undergoing excruciating treatment for her ailments. Here is an author who can listen and convey empathy without being overbearing and who can transmit the stories of mothers, leaving their voices intact.
I am a Stage IV cancer patient with two boys, ages 8 and 11. I have long struggled with the knowledge of my imminent death and how to deal with my feelings of guilt over the abandonment of my kids. Even though I will leave a very caring and compentent father in the care, I still cannot shake my guilt over leaving them motherless. Linda's book has given me the stories of mothers in the same situation and feelings. It has been a great relief for me to find a place where I can find understanding for my own feelings. Linda's book has prompted me to work on my Ethical Will (I have, long ago, together with my husband, signed a Living Will) and to reflect on my own life story and my expectations for my children. Thank you Linda for one of the most worthewhile books I have ever had the pleasure to read!

Linda Blachman has done an amazing job of putting together deeply moving stories of mothers who have cancer. There are so few people in the field who can sit with darkness without trying to making it all better, who sit in unblinking compassion with the pain and unfairness of life.

Ms. Blachman was equal to her subject in its profundity, depth, nuances, subtleties. Her voice in the book was the perfect witness to the stories that were told: she framed them, held them, and enhanced them through her comments. She weaved the stories into a meaningful narrative, just as each story itself was a meaningful narrative. All this was done with great insight,sensitivity, generosity of spirit, respect and psychological sophistication.