Breastless in the City: A Young Woman's Story of Love, Loss, and Breast Cancer [Paperback]

Cathy Bueti (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2006

"I was only 25 years old when I became a widow," Cathy Bueti writes in this gripping memoir of courage and survival. "He was my high school sweetheart and, like Romeo and Juliet, we fell in love when we were only 15 years old." But her husband's shocking death in a car crash is only the beginning of Cathy Bueti's story. Six years later, at age 31, emotionally recovered, with a career and a new life, she was suddenly diagnosed with breast cancer. This is Cathy Bueti's astonishing, very human story - ultimately a journal of a unique woman who survives every challenge life can place before her.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Cathy Bueti has been an occupational therapist for more than 15 years. She is active in the young adult cancer community, and has been a panel participant at various cancer conferences as well as keynote speaker for such events as Sloan-Kettering’s Survivorship Day. She has been featured on CNN, Lifetime TV.com, USA Today, and Woman’s World. Cathy lives in Brewster, New York, with her husband and their pug. She continues to inspire people on her website and blog at www.cathybueti.com --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 162 pages
• Publisher: Cleveland Clinic Press; 1 edition (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596240369
• ISBN-13: 978-1596240360
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,473,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cathy Bueti is an 8 year breast cancer survivor and the author of Breastless in the City, a memoir in which she shares her experience as a young widow dating through cancer treatment. She is active in the young adult cancer community and has been a panel participant at various cancer conferences as well as a keynote speaker for such events as Sloan-Kettering's Survivorship Day. She has been featured on CNN, LifetimeTV.com, USA Today, and Women's World. Cathy lives in Brewster, NY with her husband and their pug. She continues to inspire people on her website and blog at www.cathybueti.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much more than a story about surviving breast cancer, December 1, 2006

By 

Jen's Pen "Teacher Mom" (Easton, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breastless in the City: A Young Woman's Story of Love, Loss, and Breast Cancer (Paperback)

Cathy Bueti's book about surviving breast cancer opens with the death of her first husband. This heartbreaking story about becoming a widow in her early 20's begins a book that is difficult, if not impossible to put down. After your husband, your high school sweetheart, dies unexpectedly - surely the worst of your life is behind you, no? Lightning doesn't strike twice, does it?

And yet, for Cathy Bueti, lightning did strike twice. At the age of 31, WAY before the age most women even think about having a mammogram, she discovered a lump in her breast that once again brings her life to a temporary halt. She spent the next year fighting cancer, all the while attemtping to maintain a semblance of normalcy as a single, dating and professional woman.

Bueti delivers her story with much honesty and good humor. Reading this book is like sitting down with the author personally to hear it directly from her mouth. Crafting a believable and approachable story of so much tragedy so early in life must have been a daunting task - yet, it is highly readable.

The book is about much more than fighting and surviving cancer. I loved her stories of dates and brief relationships gone wrong - the fact that she had cancer while dating was almost incidental for me, simply because so many of my own funny and crazy experiences as a single person came to mind.

There are many important books available to women over a certain age who are experiencing the terror of breast cancer. However, there are very few for women in their 20's and 30's, women who still have the possibility of marriage, motherhood and career ahead of them. Cathy Bueti's book speaks directly to those women.

And yet, a common theme in the book is the importance of listening to the little voice inside your head, trusting your instincts at critical moments in your life. Bueti's little voice has played an important role in her self-reflection and quest for good health and long-lasting happiness in her life. Surely this message will have widespread appeal.

I will remember this book for a long time to come.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational, honest read, September 16, 2007

By 

Aunt Laya Saul "Laya Saul, author of the best... (http://www.auntlaya.com) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breastless in the City: A Young Woman's Story of Love, Loss, and Breast Cancer (Paperback)

This is the story of one woman's journey with breast cancer. Through the trials of loss, Cathy Bueti shares her experiences in a simple, honest, and heartfelt way. As I read this book, I thought that it is also a book about relationships, relationships with parents and other family, dating, friendships. It's about understanding the right things to say to someone and, as the author so wonderfully points out, forgiving people when they say the wrong thing because they don't know better. On the other hand, it's also about knowing when something is not right, trusting your instincts, honoring yourself, and setting boundaries.

Ms Bueti learns a lot along the way and does not hold back from the reader, she shares what she learned and what she has yet to learn. She shares her humanity, her hopes and fears, and especially the love she wants to share with her readers, to help make anyone's life more meaningful and hopeful. I'm very touched by her sincerity.

This isn't a book just for people with breast cancer, this is a book for anyone who wants to be be inspired through any hard time in life.

Thanks to the author for letting us into your life with such honesty. I do believe that you give inspiration and support to all who will read your book. And may you be blessed as you bless others.

Laya Saul, Author of "You Don't Have to Learn Everything the Hard Way"

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, May 14, 2011

By 

gloria v "glorv1" (Modesto, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Breastless in the City: A Young Woman's Story of Love, Loss, and Breast Cancer (Hardcover)

Just an excellent read about this person's life and what she has gone through and how she dealt with the problems at hand. Thumbs up!