REVIEWS
Comics and Cancer Mixby: Mike Mountain
I have just finished reading Miriam Engelberg’s Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person and it didn’t take long. That may have been because it’s in cartoon form. Also, the engaging style will please even those that rarely crack a book. Engelberg begins by enlightening us to a few things about her life in the introduction, but the rest is pure cartoons. To say that this book is very revealing about what she has been, and is going through, would be an understatement. This author faced breast cancer and, as we read from one page to the next, we see how she copes with her ever-progressing illness. She doesn’t try to be a tower of strength through all this. Rather, the innovative cartoonist chooses a different approach. That she takes us on this journey with her shows courage and grace under harsh circumstances. Those who have never had cancer don’t wish to think about it and almost never do. Those who are survivors or are still in the fight think about it, and life in general, a lot. This book is for any of those groups of people, since it is educational and written in a way that makes one want to learn more about this devastating disease. I am a leukemia survivor, knock on wood, and I, in turn, found this book particularly engrossing; I couldn’t put it down. I recommend this book to anyone dealing with the horrible thing that cancer in any form is, and for anyone who wishes to understand a little more about it. It doesn’t matter what kind of cancer you are dealing with, your reactions can be very similar. To see that someone else is going through the same thing as you are can make it a little easier as well as provide some clarity and understanding, even comfort, in the face of a terrible disease. Through humor and sarcasm (which I especially enjoy), Engelberg shows us all she has had to confront in terms of family, friends, doctors, hospitals, and even fellow patients. We see the absurdities that can arise from being an individual with breast cancer, full of thoughts only she can feel, and that others may find hard to understand. Fortunately for us, she put those thoughts down on paper. I just hope that the rest of her journey goes well for her. Thank-you Miriam. One final note…there is an excellent reference section at the back of the book for Breast Cancer Support. This is worth the price of the book alone. Mike Mountain regularly writes for the ladies-room.net and you can find more articles of his in the Token Male section. Circumstances have lead to him becoming a full-time housedad who takes care of his four-year-old son and runs the household. He lives with his wife and son in New Westminster. |
