From Publishers Weekly
This brief account of a mother's struggle with cancer and its impact on her youngest son offers only limited information and inspiration to those in similar situations. The emotional ups and downs of their daily lives are narrated alternately by Pat Brack, a middle school principal, and her son Ben (in fourth grade when Pat's breast cancer was diagnosed and now 14), whose focus on their own and each other's behavior largely excludes other family members. Ben's trips to summer camp and the rearranging of bedrooms are described along with hospital visits and chemotherapy. But these retrospective accounts bog down in interpretations that seem more self-justifying than incisive. Of Ben's behavior problems, Pat says, "his less winning traits developed in inverse proportion to our inability sic to cope with them." However, a few points do emerge about a child's experience of such illness that parents in comparable situations will want to know. For example, Ben was initially uncomfortable hugging Pat, thinking her cancer was contagious, and several schoolmates taunted him about his mother's illness. Illustrations not seen by PW . First serial to Ladies' Home Journal.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This slim volume tells the story of a mother's fight against breast cancer from both her point of view and that of her (then) 10-year-old son. In alternating narratives, Pat and son Ben discuss their feelings about her mortality, her struggle through surgery, and all the times in between. Their ups and downs, their reaching out and withdrawal, and their happiness and despair are all described. This is a valuable book because it can help the reader see the real-life struggle to survive from a family perspective. As inspirational as it is factual, this is a good choice for public libraries for both adult and children's collections. Recommended. --Carol Spielman Lezak, General Learning Corp., Northbrook, Ill.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
