Customer Reviews

Bone Marrow Boogie: The Dance of a Lifetime

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In her inspiring and beautifully written book, Janie Starr takes us along on the journey that began when she found out she had lymphoma. Not only does she do battle with this very grave form of cancer, she also learns how to boogie, or rather, to boogie even better. This memoir gives some attention to the multiple and excruciating therapies that currently constitute cancer treatment, but much more attention is given to her search for self-knowledge through a variety of alternative strategies that can be as essential as radiation and chemotherapy for restoring health. She exposes a medical profession where some practice compassion, but many more project omnipotence and omniscience for lack of the words or feelings to deal with potentially terminal illness. Relations with those from her various communities (her parents, her family, her neighbors, her exercise and activist groups) are essential to her story. Her finely turned vignettes reveal the different ways men and women deal with cancer, as well as the variety of responses one can expect from friends, acquaintances and children. When the medical treatments end, the self-exploration continues. Ms. Starr writes eloquently about the relief of having survived, living with the fear of recurrence, and the continual questioning that facing cancer inevitably brings. Finally, this book is perhaps above all about becoming a writer, a sort of portrait of the artist as a middle-aged woman confronting cancer. This should raise a question for everyone who reads this book: Why wait for illness before learning to live life fully? Janie Starr clearly emerged from her illness as a dancer and an artist.

Ms. Starr writes of her battle with lymphoma using a combination of essays, letters, emails, and recollections of her experiences. What sets this book apart is its fundamental honesty, readability and lack of preachy-ness and saccharin sentimentality.

She is unafraid to bare her experiences, thoughts, and fears to give the reader a complete view of what she went through, and does so even when it does not necessarily show her in a 'good' light. This takes courage, and gives the book credibility; I felt I was inside her soul for a tour and was allowed to peek in any room I wanted.

The subtitle is 'a memoir in bite-size pieces' which is in fact true, and makes the book very readable. The short chapters, emails, letters make the book easy to pick up and put down, although my friends have echoed my experience of reading it in one sitting.

My fear in reading this book (which was recommended by a close friend) was that it was going to be preachy, or full of sickly sweet sentimentality. It is not. The book's honesty does not allow such license. The value I received from reading was to compare the transformation in her life to the transformations taking place in mine, giving me valuable perspective.

I don't have cancer, but found the book touched me deeply nonetheless. I would highly recommend it to anyone undergoing significant changes in their lives, or who have loved ones in such a process.

BONE MARROW BOOGIE is a book for all who have had cancer touch their lives in one way or another. Ms. Starr's prose (at times, "poetry" is a better description) leaves one thinking deeply about the ramifications of hearing that cancer has entered your life. Families, friends, and caregivers for those hearing this diagnosis will benefit greatly from this book. Certainly, those who face treatment will relate far more and find this book to be a tremendous support for the experience.

Ms. Starr's honesty, sense of humor, and excellent writing makes this a wonderful book to give as a gift.....particularly when it is difficult to know what else to do!

I loved her book. I laughed with her, cried with her, and connected with her on so many levels. It is not a book only about cancer survivorship, it is a book about the human spirit and how we choose to move through our pain/suffering. I thank her for sharing her beautiful spirit with us. I gave the book to a friend who is recovering from uterine cancer and she found the book to be inspirational. This book gives hope to others.

My wife gave me this book, and I approached the read with a lot of skepticism. Now I know why she gave it to me. It's a wonderful book, honest and direct, with a sense of humor; difficult to acheive with this subject.

My family has a moderate history of cancer, but one of the people was my father. Fear has caused me to avoid consciously thinking about it my whole life. This book gave me another way to approach the subject: with honesty and humor. I have not personally experienced cancer in my body, and hope I never do. However, the author, by approaching her story with incredible honesty and fearlessness as a writer, makes it possible to believe that I could deal with the fears and challenges if I must.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has reached their 40's (as I have). I think we all begin to consider mortality at this age; we might as well approach it with honesty, no fear, and a sense of humor.

Much more than a cancer memoir, this book will appeal to anyone who has had to overcome adversity of any kind. Janie Starr shows a determination to live life fully no matter what the circumstances. From the cult of the zapped ones - those undergoing radiology treatments - to the dolphin tube - the CAT scan machine - Janie's unique humor and perspective are wonderfully poignant. Janie is obviously a woman of great strength and character whose journey you will find compelling. Musings about the meaning of hair, wistful identification with a Madrona tree who she considers a longtime friend, and her extraordinary capacity to transform her connections with people into meaningful encounters all make for a great read. My book goup is reading it now and I look forward to savoring it with other women at our next meeting. Ultimately, Janie's message is one of hope and a tenacious joe de vivre which you will find infectious.

Being a senior in high school I was assigned the job of reading an autobiography for my AP Biology class, and I couldn't have picked a better book. I was truly fascinated by the Jane Starr's story about her battle for survival with cancer and how she didn't let the cancer overtake her and define who she was. Through her story, she gives encouraging ideas and tips for others who may be dealing with cancer or other serious health issues. Seeing how much of a positive attitude she had on the entire situation should inspire others to look at such a life-altering experience from a new perspective. Of all things that Starr could have written about, she chose one of the hardest times in her life which ultimately shows the strength this woman has. Along the way, Jane kept her friends and family close, kept in contact and kept them updated on how she was doing. If anyone has not read this book, I highly suggest it. Once you open the book, the wonderfulness of the knowledge you're about the encounter will flow off the pages.

Janie Starr energetically describes her experience with cancer in her memoir, Bone Marrow Boogie. It was clear she did not let this traumatic event bring her down. If anything, it made her even more positive about her life. Janie Starr tells us every part of her thought process, even the most intimate details, as she is diagnosed with lymphoma, treated, and goes on through the next few years. We first meet Janie Starr as an in-shape vegetarian. She is highly involved with her family, including her teenage son, her son in college, and her physician husband. She is in-tune with her body and the Earth. Then she begins to feel strange and weak. That's when she learns she has lymphoma. At first she is in shock, sad, and depressed, as is the rest of her family. With encouragement that her cancer should be easily treated and killed, she surged along hopefully. Even though the chemotherapy and radiation made her feel sick and tired, she continued to be positive. Not only did she take the regular treatment path, she also saw a naturopath and did some sort of meditation. She made it her personal goal to connect with as many people as possible, including all of her friends, those being treated with her, and the doctors, nurses, and technicians that took care of her. Really it seemed that this cancer was a great experience for her. In the years after her treatment, she still had to go back for check-ups. She continued to try to bring positivity to those who treated her and those also being treated. She kept in contact with everyone who had supported her while she underwent treatment. She even tried to help others who contracted cancer. Coupled with her strong, positive outlook is the fact that Janie Starr is a writer. She wrote to all her friends, family, and acquaintances to keep them updated and thank them for their interest and support. As a reader, I was able to connect with Janie as well. It was especially easy to empathize with her because she did not complain about the fact that she had cancer and the treatments were difficult on her body, but rather she celebrated her life and continued to live life to the fullest. Even during the hardest times when she just wanted to sleep and felt completely horrible, she still made herself find the connection with everyone she encountered. I can apply this to struggles in my life by trying to stay positive and celebrating the fact that I have a decent life rather than complaining about the small things that go away after a week. Society can do the same--rather than make a huge deal out of everything, being positive about everything could create more harmony and less conflict. This book can be an inspiration to anyone with any type of struggle because she found the upside to everything life threw at her. Cancer could have killed her. Instead she held strong to her values and beliefs to overcome it with attitude as well as medicine. In all the discussion about her outlook on her situation, she is very informative about cancer in general. She asked those treating her to explain everything that was going on, so she relayed the information to the reader. We learned about the typical medical side and the more natural side that she took part in as well. Altogether this book was very informative and inspiring as we embarked on Janie Starr's experience with lymphoma right along with her.