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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
I lost both of my parents to cancer, my dad when he was 61 and I was 31, and my mom when she was 60 and I was 38. Since losing my dad I’ve read a lot, including a number of these end of life books. The good ones come from people who either gave thought to how to live life before being diagnosed or read a lot of literature throughout their life. The worst are a hodgepodge of memoir and random “deep” thoughts with no organizing theme.
In this case, the life story of Yip-Williams is somewhat interesting though spread out throughout the book. I’m especially interested in her solo-legally-blind travels, but unfortunately, she didn't describe that in any detail. Otherwise, I would only recommend this to people who want to mine the book for colon cancer specifics, which admittedly might be useful.
Also, the whole thing about her husband's hypothetical second wife was a bit much. Granted I'm not dying of cancer, but I really love my husband, and I imagine (and hope) that if I died he'd marry someone completely awesome. The last thing I'd want to do is leave them with a list of musts and can'ts to make them feel guilty about their decisions when I'm not even around. Wanting your kids to be raised a particular way is completely understandable, but I'd want them to be loved by a stepmom more than I'd worry about their music classes. And I'd even want them to be happy enough to be able to call her mom. Real love is about them, not me.
For me, the best part of the book might be her husband's epilogue. It's truthful and full of selfless love. It also provides a pretty good analysis of the reality of a bad cancer diagnosis and a long terrible illness.
If you want end-of-life wisdom I recommend: Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl who survived the Holocaust, The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs who died of cancer, and Bright-Sided by Barbara Ehrenreich (about the annoying positivity forced on cancer patients and others). Or you know, actual books about philosophy, religion, and literature generally.
In this case, the life story of Yip-Williams is somewhat interesting though spread out throughout the book. I’m especially interested in her solo-legally-blind travels, but unfortunately, she didn't describe that in any detail. Otherwise, I would only recommend this to people who want to mine the book for colon cancer specifics, which admittedly might be useful.
Also, the whole thing about her husband's hypothetical second wife was a bit much. Granted I'm not dying of cancer, but I really love my husband, and I imagine (and hope) that if I died he'd marry someone completely awesome. The last thing I'd want to do is leave them with a list of musts and can'ts to make them feel guilty about their decisions when I'm not even around. Wanting your kids to be raised a particular way is completely understandable, but I'd want them to be loved by a stepmom more than I'd worry about their music classes. And I'd even want them to be happy enough to be able to call her mom. Real love is about them, not me.
For me, the best part of the book might be her husband's epilogue. It's truthful and full of selfless love. It also provides a pretty good analysis of the reality of a bad cancer diagnosis and a long terrible illness.
If you want end-of-life wisdom I recommend: Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl who survived the Holocaust, The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs who died of cancer, and Bright-Sided by Barbara Ehrenreich (about the annoying positivity forced on cancer patients and others). Or you know, actual books about philosophy, religion, and literature generally.
A beautiful memoir about coming to terms with a terminal illness, but also about appreciating the miracles, and the chance serendipities. Lovely.
Book club book-very inspiring. Three and a half stars because it was a little repetitive. Very insightful but definitely a heavy subject.
This was an unusual book to read. Since we start the book already knowing how it ends, what is left is the journey. And I found I was much more interested in Julie's life before diagnosis, especially her early life, and much less interested in her life after diagnosis (particularly the focus on the treatments, scans, tests, clinical trials, etc.). I found myself skimming large sections of the book, especially when parts got repetitious. There were also a few places where I found myself confused by the timeline, but then when I read elsewhere that these were originally blog posts, it made sense (that it was out of order or repetitive). I did appreciate her honesty and her willingness to share what she was going through, including the anger and rage.
The memoir The Unwinding of the Miracle by Julie Yip-Williams will most likely be at the top of my list of books read this year. The memoir is about Julie Yip-Williams' life, death and living while dying of cancer at the age of forty-tw0. As she explains, this is a memoir for those that are left behind after she passes away.
The recounting of her life, thoughts, experiences, and feelings is a tale of a remarkable journey and life. Her insights that she passes along are so poignant and profound and provide an opportunity for a tremendous learning experience.
Her writing is graceful, tough, open and searing. And so brutally honest about so many things.
For those that have had to experience terminal illnesses, some passages will be familiar, but Julie Yip-Williams still provides kernels of truth and experiences that should add enhancements to most peoples' lives.
I am so glad a GoodReads friend previously reviewed this book (Thank you Megan!), because, before that, I do not recall hearing about this book and am surprised it has not received more publicity. Also, I do not know if it resonates strongly with me because of my own past experiences, but this memoir contains wonderful observations and insights into life and death.
It simply can't be recommended highly enough and I would love to see it become required reading for especially younger people.
The recounting of her life, thoughts, experiences, and feelings is a tale of a remarkable journey and life. Her insights that she passes along are so poignant and profound and provide an opportunity for a tremendous learning experience.
Her writing is graceful, tough, open and searing. And so brutally honest about so many things.
For those that have had to experience terminal illnesses, some passages will be familiar, but Julie Yip-Williams still provides kernels of truth and experiences that should add enhancements to most peoples' lives.
I am so glad a GoodReads friend previously reviewed this book (Thank you Megan!), because, before that, I do not recall hearing about this book and am surprised it has not received more publicity. Also, I do not know if it resonates strongly with me because of my own past experiences, but this memoir contains wonderful observations and insights into life and death.
It simply can't be recommended highly enough and I would love to see it become required reading for especially younger people.
First diagnosed in 2013 with Stage VI colon cancer while on holiday in LA to attend her brother's wedding, The Unwinding of the Miracle chronologically follows's the life of Julie Yip-Williams, originally born in Vietnam to Chinese parents Julie had an unconventional start to life as her family feared how her future would be affected by her very poor eye-site.
Its not spoilers to mention Julie passed away five years after her diagnosis and this book is lovingly finished by her husband Josh; Julie leaves behind two young daughters and I think one of the most remarkable things in this book after Julie's determination and honesty is the reaction and attitude of her daughters to her illness and some of the most heartwarming moments for me were when her young children offered up their words of support and comfort.
Cancer is a sensitive topic and has touched pretty much everyone's lives either directly or indirectly so some may find this difficult reading and this is a raw honest account of the years following Julie's diagnosis scattered with flashbacks to events in her childhood, its one of those books that's painful to read but you struggle to put down; think When Breath Becomes Air; and I would recommend to anyone who enjoys non-fiction.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for early access to this in exchange for an honest review.
Its not spoilers to mention Julie passed away five years after her diagnosis and this book is lovingly finished by her husband Josh; Julie leaves behind two young daughters and I think one of the most remarkable things in this book after Julie's determination and honesty is the reaction and attitude of her daughters to her illness and some of the most heartwarming moments for me were when her young children offered up their words of support and comfort.
Cancer is a sensitive topic and has touched pretty much everyone's lives either directly or indirectly so some may find this difficult reading and this is a raw honest account of the years following Julie's diagnosis scattered with flashbacks to events in her childhood, its one of those books that's painful to read but you struggle to put down; think When Breath Becomes Air; and I would recommend to anyone who enjoys non-fiction.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for early access to this in exchange for an honest review.
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
😭😭😭😭😭😭x 1,000,000 times
Life was incredibly cruel to Julie Yip-Williams. She was born blind in Vietnam, where her grandmother advised her parents to have her euthanized rather than go through life without vision or medical care to restore her sight. But her family escaped Vietnam on a sinking ship to the U.S., where she had surgery to restore much of her vision and went on to get an education, become a lawyer, and start a family. And then, as a young mother of two, she was diagnosed with terminal colorectal cancer.
This memoir is incredibly brave, honest, and personal. It tells Yip-Williams' story and explores her years looking death in the face. I can't imagine taking on such a project while going on such a painful and difficult journey. Her contemplations on death, life, spirituality, and fate are so powerful. I'm so grateful that she was willing to leave her legacy in this way.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This memoir is incredibly brave, honest, and personal. It tells Yip-Williams' story and explores her years looking death in the face. I can't imagine taking on such a project while going on such a painful and difficult journey. Her contemplations on death, life, spirituality, and fate are so powerful. I'm so grateful that she was willing to leave her legacy in this way.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
READ THIS BOOK. I need to process more before I write more of my thoughts but this should be required reading.