Bone: Dying into Life [Hardcover]

Marion Woodman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 25, 2000

A rich and intimate journey into one of life's most challenging experiences from an acclaimed author and analyst

Marion Woodman is renowned as the ultimate chronicler of women's experience. In her latest work, she combines her trademark insight with a personal lesson in wisdom and strength. On November 7, 1993, Marion Woodman was diagnosed with uterine cancer. Bone is the story, told in journal form, of her illness and healing and of the journey to transforming herself.

More than a meditation on illness, Bone offers insights into healing and the role of art and poetry in the soul's journey to balance and wholeness. Woodman is extraordinarily honest about the factors she feels led her down the path to cancer, physically and spiritually, over the course of her early life. She also details the harrowing aspects of her journey and how she ultimately returned to health. Filled with art, line drawings, quotations from Rumi, Emily Dickinson, William Blake, and others, Bone is a unique and sensitive testament to the human spirit and to the tremendous courage of this extraordinary woman.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When she was diagnosed in 1993, at the age of 65, with uterine cancer, the author drew on the resources of alternative healing as well as conventional medicine in her fight against the disease. A Canadian writer (Addiction to Perfection) and Jungian analyst, Woodman is also known for her New Age feminism and frequent appearances with poet Robert Bly, with whom she coauthored The Maiden King. Reproduced here is the journal she kept from November 1993 to March 1995 that documents the internal spiritual struggle her illness triggered. She details how she used imagery, took herbs and supplements prescribed by nontraditional healers and, in addition, followed their dietary strictures in order to fortify her body to withstand the recommended radiation treatment (including a painful and harrowing 48-hour ordeal). Woodman's diary entries are filled with introspective ruminations, mythological allusions, references to Jungian archetypes and the divisions between the masculine and the feminine, which will have the greatest appeal to those who are familiar with her work. Although Woodman had the support of her husband and friends during her illness, she was haunted by the recent death of a brother from cancer, her osteoporosis worsened and she was also later threatened by a new tumor that proved to be benign. Woodman has recovered from her cancer; those who have been similarly afflicted will appreciate her courage and determination to reclaim her body and spirit. 8-city author tour. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Jungian therapist Woodman had long suffered back pain and increasingly limited mobility when, in her mid-sixties, she learned she had uterine cancer. She presents her battle with the cancer in journal form, including marginal line drawings, photographs, and quotations from Emily Dickinson, William Blake, Thomas Merton, and others. The entries span from November 1993 to April 1995, and encompass wrenching physical and emotional suffering. Woodman endured hours of brutally invasive radiation that almost drove her mad with pain. She agonized over using Western medical practices to save her life, for she felt she was being untrue to the divine goddess Sophia and the healing rituals, incantations, and nutritional programs she had long trusted. Furthermore, afraid of being dismissed as an elderly New Age freak, she struggled to communicate with unbelieving doctors as she wrestled for inner balance. Her continuing back and leg problems eventually led to the discovery of a bone tumor. Throughout, she managed to maintain her humor and dignity, eventually deepening her understanding of suffering and the human spirit. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 245 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (September 25, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670893749
• ISBN-13: 978-0670893744
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,012,745 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars powerful and profound, September 27, 2000

By 

Cynthia J. Jacobs "cajjac" (florida, usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bone: Dying into Life (Hardcover)

marion woodman is unequaled in her ability to see life, in all it's complicated paradoxes, and articulate her journey through it... i find her latest book to be compelling as she shares her personal story with compassion and rigorous honesty... just knowing that she has walked her own path inspires me to continue to walk mine... if you've ever wondered if someone walks ahead of you then read 'bone' and know she is ....

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marion Woodman - a gentle heroine, October 10, 2007

By 

Beverly (Bowen Island, BC. Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bone: Dying into Life (Compass) (Mass Market Paperback)

Once I picked up this book I could not put it down until I finished it completely, then I went back and made notes on it. My own world view is different than Marion Woodman's but I picked up some valuable insights from this book anyway. It also contains the most horrific account of a cancer treatment I have ever read anywhere. It makes me shudder weeks later just thinking about it. Marion Woodman's own beautiful personality shines through this book. It will also inspire you to try to eat ten servings of the brightly colored vegetables and fruits a day. Go ahead and buy it, it is well worth it.

4.0 out of 5 stars Bone by Marion Woodman, November 6, 2011

By 

Adrienne - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bone: Dying into Life (Compass) (Mass Market Paperback)

Bone by Marion Woodman is the autobiography by a woman faced with death. Marion faced one of the scariest things anyone is ever faced with, cancer. She guides you with her day to day life in this terror. She was diagnosed with uterine cancer in November of 1993. Marion had worked her whole life trying to care for and manage a good and healthy well being. She wondered how could her body do this to her after everything she had done for it? Throughout the book Marion tries and connects with her body. By connecting to her body she believes she can free herself from cancer, even though she feels as if she doesn't have cancer at all. Radiation therapy she considers as a toxin for her body. Radiation gives you burns, leaves you feeling weak, and with one miscalculation can damage other organs leaving her with permanent damage. Even though Marion has her beliefs about radiation therapy she continues on with the treatment; she is able to eliminate the uterine cancer. Feeling free from this horrible disease she continues to live her life joyfully, and she reconnects with her body and soul. Later on she develops pain in her back when she walks. She is diagnosed with severe osteoporosis and osteoarthritis in her lower back. Marion's scans also showed something else. Marion had a tumor on the inside of her sacrum. The doctor figures the cancer has metastasized, but it is too dangerous and impossible to biopsy the tumor to give them the results. Given this news Marion is only given a certain amount of time to live. She seeks the opinion of another doctor and he suspects it is not cancer. So Marion continues to struggle walking and moving, left with great pain, but insists on living her life, thankful she is alive.
Bone is a fantastic book that showed me an insight of a cancer patient. It showed and explained some of the popular cancer terminology such as metastasized and explains what brachytherapy is and what happens during the procedure. Lastly it doesn't explain how and why tumors form, and why people have to go through this awful disease. But overall I recommend Bone to others who want a better understanding of the day to day life of a cancer patient.
This book greatly affected me personally. My grandpa had terminal cancer. Even though I watched him go through the pain and suffering, Bone showed me the thoughts and concerns that run through a cancer patients mind. They too are afraid and don't understand why this has to happen to them. Marion connected with her body, and I want to do so as well. This book has shown me that caring for and connecting with my body is very important. I must take these steps now in order to live a joyful life.