Customer Reviews

Between Me and the River

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am an oncology nurse and this is simply the best book about surviving, coping and recovering from cancer that I have ever read.

This book is so beautifully written and so amazingly accurate and insightful. I wept throughout the whole thing. It covers so many of the emotions that my patients have expressed to me over the years, and it is exactly how I know I would feel if I were in the author's shoes. It is outstanding.

I have read so many cancer books with the hope of finding the perfect book to give to my patients, but always find them lacking something. This book is perfect. I loved the "summary" of the lesson learned at the end of most of the chapters. I have read excerpts from this book to two of my support groups this week to promote discussion and it has already touched the cancer survivors in those groups.

I can only imagine the impact that this book will not only have on cancer survivors and their families, but also on oncology nurses and doctors who read it. This is a must read for any oncology nurse who truly wants to empathize with his/her patients, and all medical students need to be forced to read it to remind them of the emotional toll the cancer journey takes on someone, and to remind them that they are dealing with human beings and not just a cancer "diagnosis".

This book truly touched me. The part where she describes looking in on her children while they slept before she heads to The Mayo Clinic, not knowing if she would see them again, made me sob. The way she wrote about her baby, her amazing husband, sisters...unbelievably beautiful and loving. The part about her mother wishing she could take her daughter's cancer from her and the whole mother daughter bond....heart wrenching. So perfectly accurate the way she describes the friends who stay and the friends who don't. I can't tell you how many times I have heard this and have seen this when working with cancer patients/survivors. A perfect description of the overwhelming fatigue that cancer survivors feel.

I have no doubt that this book will be hugely successful and if Oprah doesn't pick it for her book club she is insane. But the most important legacy that it will have is with the thousands of cancer survivors who will totally be able to identify with it and will feel less alone after reading it.

This is a beautiful book and an amazing lesson in how to value life. Cancer survivors know what is truly important in life and are so much wiser and more powerful than we mere mortals without cancer. This book captures that perfectly.

For those without cancer in their lives, I also suggest this book, as there is a truly beautiful love story woven into the pages between the author and her husband. Not a romance novel love story, but a story of a true and strong love that is tested through the worst of times and not only survives but is victorious.

I would like to thank the author for sharing this stunning book with us and wish her many years of "NED" ("no evidence of disease"), good health and happiness.

You will find that her thoughts and expressions throughout her battle with cancer will take you back to your loved ones that have gone to battle against this disease. I found myself thinking and asking myself "my loved ones who died from cancer never expressed how they truely felt throughout there illness with cancer". She expresses herself in such a way that she has you crying and truely feeling what she feels. It makes you totally understand what a cancer patient goes through, not just chemo or radiation and it outwards effects on one that we all can see. She expresses her iner feelings and speaks of them outwardly which embraces the reader. Especially, when she speaks of her children. She wants to raise them, not watch someone else take care of them and give them love, the love that she wants to give and can't. As she reaches what looks like the end of this journey, she still corageously fights back. Her ongoing battle and the fight within her to live is amazing. The quanities of sea plankton that she consumed I believe saved her. This book should be read by all; especially nurses, caregivers, etc. I was really touched by her feelings and the way she espressed how she felt throughtout her battle with cancer that I can honestly say, I now know the inner feelings of one trying to stay alive. As you read this book you tend to say My God, "that's how my personal loved ones lived and kept there inner feelings a secret. Their emotions and thoughts in a trapped body, until the end, for some. I am happy to say this story has a happy ending. This book I will read more than once. The connection that she makes with the reader will stay with you far after you read this book. It will remain in your heart, forever.

This book took me a long time to build up the fortitude to open this book and dive in. As a mother of two young children, the thought of not being able to watch them grow into adulthood is one of my worst fears. That's exactly what this book is about so I had to be in the right frame of mind to even attempt this read. Once I did start the book, I felt disappointed as I expected more from the author than she gives the reader about her external fears and love for her family. Instead, as it must be for those who are survivors, the focus was quite internal about where she was at any given time and quite honest in her self-focus. In retrospect, I think the book was marketed more about a "mother" than as a "survivor" and had it been marketed differently, I wouldn't have felt something was missing.

This is the memoir of Carrie Host- daughter, wife, mother and friend who is given a devastating diagnosis. The writing is both brutal and lovely as she documents her journey through a life-threatening illness.

Host does a beautiful job of capturing the various psychological states as she experiences each setback, each triumph. This is a very honest book and the intimacy of knowing the author's doubt and fears was very compelling.

This is a book where, for me, the intensity of it made me want to read more but was also a bit emotionally draining- for example, it was difficult for me not to think about what I would tell my own girls if I was in her position and contemplating death and not being able to see my children grow up...

I think the up-close-and-personal first person narration will be powerful for those who can relate to the author, her illness, her family, etc.. The reader who doesn't identify with the author may not find this to be as meaningful to read. This isn't a book you pick up for recreational reading. May be inspiring for those dealing with cancer- I think one could say that this isn't a memoir of someone dying from cancer, more like someone learning to live with and beyond cancer.

Overall, a moving story of one woman's struggle but def. not for everyone- may be particularly difficult for someone who is still treading water, waiting to see if they're going to win or if the cancer will.

What makes Between Me and the River both amazing and incredibly difficult to read is the manner in which Carrie takes us along on all the intimate steps of her journey. She shows us her strength and stubbornness, but she also shows us the times when she whines, feels sorry for herself, and wants to give up. She dwells equally on the moments of hope and the moments of despair. Most amazingly of all, whether you're a cancer patient yourself who wants to understand better what you're going through (and realize you're not alone), or you want to be able to understand those with cancer a bit better, you'll find she deftly places you in her shoes throughout all the highs and lows.

Carrie, in addition to being in the position to tell us all about the aspects of cancer we might not think of or be aware of (from the effects of treatment, to the effects of the disease on friendships and family), is also a lovely writer. She has a poet's sensibility and a lyrical style. Even the second time that I go back to read through some of the details of her reaction to her diagnosis, I start to cry.

If you know someone who has cancer--and the odds are high that sometime during your lifetime you will--you owe it to both them and yourself to read this book, and get a spare copy for them. It's a beautiful way to help you both understand and cope with what's happening, and maybe it'll give you a common ground from which to discuss such a difficult subject.


[note: review copy provided by publicist]

I chose this book to hoping it would offer some insight into dealing with an illness in our family. This is a wondeful book. One feels the pain,frustration and love through out this book. A young woman's a story of a long hard journey. We all can benefit from this book. Highly recommend. It will make you a stronger person and more compassionate of those facing such a journey. It will give you courage and spunk!

I gave this book to my sister who is currently being treated for colon cancer. She told me that the book is very well written and that she can identify with many things that are covered in the book about living with cancer.

She said that the book gave her support and understanding.

Many words could describe this deeply meaningful narrative into the dark realities of the cancer journey... yet I will strive to keep it short so others actually read my words.

This book is beautifully written, full of truth, devastatingly deep and honest. It is also full of hope and triumph. Carrie writes the way only a woman who has been there can. As the wife of a cancer survivor I was right there with her and her family at times. Her struggles show the depth of suffering and better yet, the strength of the will and power of love! I am grateful for her honesty in sharing such a personal story and her courage to write it down in words since this took "revisiting" the pain over and over again. I recognize Carrie as a gifted writer.

I highly whole-heartedly recommend this book to everyone.... but especially to the true seeker wanting the ability to see the value of life in a whole new way!

This is a book that I could not put down until I finished. As a person, who has lost family members to CANCER, the author's words were soothing, touching, and what an insight on what someone with that disease does to protect their family. Carrie Host's style of writing has such an ease and flow about it. Many tears were shed reading this book but there was so much more HOPE than SADNESS. Do I believe this book should be the next book on Oprah's Book Club? Of course, I do. This is an unbelievable, well-written, touching story by an author, who is beautiful inside and out and has touched so many lives.

The human spirit never ceases to amaze me and this author pours it out on her pages. I wouldn't consider it the best writing in the world and sometimes got frustrated with the logistics of the writing. But the story as a whole is beautiful and amazing. There are nuggets of insights throughout the pages that can be beneficial to everyone whether they have had cancer, know someone who has cancer, or ever for people who have never dealt with cancer.

I loved the river as a metaphor and could totally relate to it.

It felt as if you were reading a very good friends diary. there was a level of intimacy with the author which brought up lots of feelings for me. I could imagine myself in her shoes and I am amazed at how she handled things.

I also love that she reminds people to go ahead and approach your friend or family who has cancer. Embrace them. Now isn't the time to walk out of their life because you are uncomfortable and don't know what to say.

I highly recommend this book for anyone dealing with cancer.

I also think that there are so many nuggets of wisdom that this could be a great book for book clubs to discuss.

UPDATE: I found myself rereading parts of this book as the nuggets of wisdom continued to ring inside of me and I wanted to get in touch with them again at a deeper level. For me, it was more of a personal soul searching. I mean, I am not struggling with cancer--but regardless, the truth is the truth and it can continue to ring in your soul. And some of the wisdom spoke to me at a deep level as a truth in human experience, emotions and life.