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240 reviews for:
Do ostatnich dni. Zapis życia, choroby i wszystkiego, co przychodzi później
Julie Yip-Williams
3.99 AVERAGE
240 reviews for:
Do ostatnich dni. Zapis życia, choroby i wszystkiego, co przychodzi później
Julie Yip-Williams
3.99 AVERAGE
Some fascinating material, especially about her childhood, born in a provincial Vietnam city in 1975, soon after the fall of Saigon. Her father had briefly been in the South Vietnam army, and they were Chinese ethnicity, which put them in a bad position. Julie was born nearly blind, and her grandmother tried to have the parents commit infanticide soon after she was born. The story of their escape in a leaky boat to Hong Kong, and her eventual emigration to the United States was all interesting. Her insights into the experience of cancer also has informative, touching parts. But it does get very repetitive. And while her honesty with her feelings is admirable, aspects of her personality and her choices become pretty grating in the second half.
I found this a little long and maybe a little repetitive, but it's one of the better examples of the dying of cancer memoir genre thanks to its introspection and unflinching honesty.
This is not the type of book I normally read, but I saw the author on CBS Sunday Morning last year. Her story was sad but interesting, so I knew I wanted to read her memoir. It tells the story of her life, starting as a blind child in Viet Nam, and ending with her battle with colon cancer. It gave insight into her emotions and experiences through the years from her diagnosis to her death. I don't think I would necessarily recommend this book but it was an interesting, although heartbreaking, read.
This was my second read through of this and it is such an incredible story of life while confronting death head on. She doesn’t hold back, nor does she sugarcoat or saint herself. She admits times when she wasn’t her best, she shares her fears and sorrow, but she celebrates life throughout everything.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
i feel weird assigning a rating to this given that it was someone's life. i think this was beautifully written, but since it was reorganized from blog posts into a book, it felt a little disjointed and sometimes the order was confusing (i'm not sure if it was quite chronological, but some pieces seemed like they weren't).
overall, this was a beautifully and brutally honest memoir of living with cancer for 5 years. as a future doctor and former cancer researcher, i will take to heart julie's experiences - we don't always experience such honesty when we talk to patients (for obvious reasons).
honestly, i don't think i would have gotten along with julie as a person. but i think that makes her story more powerful because she is completely raw. i appreciate that, and i hope this book gives strength to those living with cancer that they don't have to be "model" cancer patients. i am overall honored to have read this book and be able to know someone's intimate life and pain. it takes a lot of courage, something which julie valued immensely.
overall, this was a beautifully and brutally honest memoir of living with cancer for 5 years. as a future doctor and former cancer researcher, i will take to heart julie's experiences - we don't always experience such honesty when we talk to patients (for obvious reasons).
honestly, i don't think i would have gotten along with julie as a person. but i think that makes her story more powerful because she is completely raw. i appreciate that, and i hope this book gives strength to those living with cancer that they don't have to be "model" cancer patients. i am overall honored to have read this book and be able to know someone's intimate life and pain. it takes a lot of courage, something which julie valued immensely.
To post a review, I had to assign a rating - so I went the average 3 stars - which isn't fair or right. I don't think you can rate a memoir about dying because these books speak differently to different people. For me "When Breath Become Air" was the book that really touched me. But I can see how this book could do the same for others.
The Unwinding of the Miracle by Julie Yip-Williams was outstanding. This is an emotional read, but worth the journey given the beauty of the writing. This is a memoir (posted posthumously) built around the author's terminal cancer diagnosis at 37. She uses her writing to chronicle the emotions of living with this disease. This includes her relationship with her husband, young daughters, and extended family. The title speaks to the fact that it is somewhat of a miracle the author even made it to adulthood. Born blind, her own grandmother wanted her parents to have her euthanized. After coming to the United States as a refugee to escape the turmoil of Vietnam, she is able to eventually get surgery to restore some sight. She spends some time on what it means to overcome such obstacles to achieve all she has, but really this is a reflection on the emotions that come with coming face-to-face with your mortality. There are days where she details the beauty in the world, and there are others where she is overcome with the pain and grief of cancer and what this means for her, as well as what will never be. By the end of this one, I was a mess of tears. However, I also found such power in this story. Throughout, she stresses the importance of living while you're living. Given her situation, she has a unique understanding of working with the time you've got, and her message is going to stay with me for awhile. Thanks to Random House for the ARC that I'm a bit behind in reading. The good news? This one is out now, so no need to wait on a release date to check this one out right now.
This was a beautiful and deeply personal account of navigating life with cancer. If this is a sensitive subject, maybe avoid. As someone who has had a lot of cancer in the family, I found this both difficult and informative, almost helpful in a healing way too.