Six Months to Live : Learning from a Young Man with Cancer [Paperback]

Daniel Hallock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 25, 2000

A stirring account of a 22-year-old's struggle against the ravages of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It explores the harsh reality of having to face one's own mortality - and with it the twin demons of uncertainty and fear. "Six Months to Live" is about facing death, rather than trying to ease our way around it with the least pain. Matt and his wife, parents, and doctor grappled with the anguish of his impending death, but they never really came to terms with it. Rather, they met it head on, and let it transform them.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Matt Gauger, the subject of this slim, poignant book, suddenly found himself dying of cancer at age 22. Hallock gives readers an intimate account of events, beginning with the robust, athletic young man's descent into unmanageable pain, followed by a serious diagnosis and months of reckoning with end-of-life issues. The text features long quotations from interviews with and diaries of those closest to Gauger among them his wife, parents, brother and doctor and in doing so paints the emotional, spiritual and physical landscape within which this drama unfolded. Hallock admirably avoids hagiography, as do Gauger's loved ones, and instead reveals the ennobling effect dying had on Gauger. As Gauger's pastor says, "Matt's death... brought him and all of us around him back to the essentials; to the things of eternity to the childlike spirit each of us needs in order to be part of the kingdom of God." This book features life in the Pennsylvania Bruderhof, which is one of a handful of Anabaptist communes worldwide that preach and practice pacifism and simplicity. Hallock and his interviewees repeatedly emphasize the love with which this community enveloped the Gaugers, detailing the practical and spiritual ways they both supported and learned from Gauger's struggle. As such, the book becomes as much a testament to the Bruderhof way of life as it is the story of one person.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

An extraordinary account – simple and profound. Matt’s struggle is one we will all eventually have to go through. -- Francis S. MacNutt, author, Healing

It is a tragedy when a life is cut this short, though in being compressed it becomes like a diamond. -- Frederica Mathewes-Green

Too many books are written about physical healing and not enough about triumph at the spiritual level. -- Paul Brand

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Plough Publishing House (December 25, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087486903X
• ISBN-13: 978-0874869033
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,388,503 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #67 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Aging > Cancer > Lymphatic

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Death, Stared Down, March 26, 2001

By 

Chris V (Pasadena, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Six Months to Live : Learning from a Young Man with Cancer (Paperback)

A 22-year-old's battle against cancer might seem an unlikely topic for an uplifting book -- but Six Months to Live is certainly that. It's the story of Matt, a young man who, faced with death, refused to quit living. Matt wasn't a hero, and the writer of his story doesn't make him out to be one. Six Months to Live steers clear of the cliches and catch-phrases we often use to help us "make sense" of terminal illness. Instead, the book is realistic: it shows us Matt's darkest hours as well as his triumphs; his doubts as well as his faith. That's why, at the end, the reader is not left feeling Matt's life was "wasted"; rather, that it was used for a cause bigger than any one of us. We're all dead men, the movie Gladiator reminds us. Like as not, we don't get to choose how or when we die. But we all can choose how we meet death. Six Months to Live can help us choose well. Thanks to Matt.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Six Months to Live, November 19, 2002

By 

Sarah (IA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Six Months to Live : Learning from a Young Man with Cancer (Paperback)

This book made me feel sad and happy all at the same time. Matt a young man given a short time to live after being diagnosed with cancer, doesn't shun away the world but opens himself to everything. He becomes very spiritual and in touch with God through his illness. I had a very hard time being able to put the
book down. The way his family, friends, and community reacted is incredible, they were very compassionate and supportive. I would suggest this book to anyone.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a brave man, June 11, 2001

By 

"cherish93" (Confluence,PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Six Months to Live : Learning from a Young Man with Cancer (Paperback)

I don't live far from Farmington,PA and infact I have been to the Bruderhof and these ppl are so kind and wonderful..After reading this book I felt such a pain for the family and friends that had to watch there dear son, brother,husband and friend live all those months of hell..But, What a strong man Matt was and for him to live each day in pain but still carry a smile..The book was not hard to read at all and was well understood..Really made you feel like you were there throughout the days and hours with him..I picked the book up in a local resteraunt here and read within a day..My thoughts are with the family..