The Cancer Journals: The Original Edition [Paperback]

Audre Lorde (Author)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Audre Lorde (1934-1992) wrote eighteen books of essays and poetry, for which she won numerous awards, including the American Book Award for A Burst of Light. She received a Masters of Library Science from Columbia University. After working several years as a librarian, she became a professor of English-first at John Jay College and later at Hunter College.

Product Details

• Paperback: 77 pages
• Publisher: Aunt Lute Books; 2nd edition (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1879960265
• ISBN-13: 978-1879960268
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #328,958 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Courageous Memoir, November 9, 2006

By 

Linda Benninghoff (Lloyd Harbor, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cancer Journals: The Original Edition (Paperback)

Lorde's book will be of interest to those battling breast cancer and feminists, but also to anyone wanting to learn from a difficult experience. Lorde teaches us how to speak out against the injuustices done women, what it's like to survive in a hostile, male-chauvinist universe. Although the book is sad the wisdom it contains readily makes up for its difficcult content. Lorde's struggle is successful because she manages to rise above the difficulties caused by breast cancer--being one-breasted, for example--and overcome them. Her book is visionary.

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A survivor , but not a believer in this..., June 25, 2006

By 

Levi "eminenz2" (Germantown, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cancer Journals: The Original Edition (Paperback)

I think this is an important book for breast cancer survivors to read. It has made me think about a lot of things regarding my recovering.

However, I can't help but feel...how? Inferior? Shallow? Like a wimp? I can't even think of a word for it...for choosing to wear a prosthesis and for looking forward to my reconstruction. As if somehow, if I was a better woman or I was a better feminist or a braver survivor I could say, "Forget it!" and walk around the world proudly showing off my one-breasted-ness under my t-shirt.

This book is important because it's made me think hard about my post-cancer decisions. However, in the long run, I don't believe Lorde's opinions, experiences, and observations will be helpful for my continued survival.

If you have chosen to wear a prothesis or to get reconstruction, don't look to this book for affirmation, you will just get judgement, although Lorde opines that it is not her *intent* to judge.

I also think this book needs to be read in context of the time it was written. Breast cancer care has come a long way in the last 20 years. Lorde's belief that chemotherapy and radiation are in themselves carcinogenic may be true in the most extreme situation, in the most narrow sense, but nowadays the benefits by far outweigh the risks. Thousands upon thousands of survivors are around to attest to that.

Sadly, maybe I'm not feminist enough or woman enough to risk my life in order to make the personal political, to prove a point. In reading "The Cancer Journals", I found that Audre Lorde was. And even though it wasn't all doom and gloom, and despite her joyful exultation of the loving women that cared for her, at the end of the book I found it all a little too sad.

5 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Striking continuation of food-fest/allegorical galcommentary, October 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cancer Journals: The Original Edition (Paperback)

Following on the tremendously sensual roast-beef scene in Zami, Lourde here rejects beef after coming to terms with the oppressive white system that probably imposed hormone-ridden substandard products on people of colour. I think this is very brave. I'd like to propose that in memory of Lourde all self-respecting womyn reject mass-produced beef products. A great book. And very eye-opening.