DiscoverHealth & Wellbeing

WARRIOR

By

Loved it! 😍

One woman's story of and experience with a triple-negative breast cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment and recovery

I zipped through the first half of the book, mesmerized with Jessica's story and all the fascinating details of a breast cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment. Jessica's writing style is charming and humorous. She provides the full picture, filling in all the little details as she tells her story. As someone who has not had a firsthand or even secondhand experience or knowledge of cancer of any kind (let alone breast cancer), I felt like I could truly empathize with Jessica's story and truly understand what she was going through. I know cancer is no joke but I never really knew what it felt like to go through a double mastectomy surgery and recovery before reading her story. Jessica was just one year older than me when she was diagnosed and she brought a little more fear of this unknown into my heart. But she also laid it all out there. If I were to receive a similar diagnosis or knew someone going through something similar, I would definitely recommend a book like this. Fear of the unknown can grip you and fester but knowing all these little details could pull back some of that worry. And Jessica writes about her experience with more than just details, firsthand knowledge, and a little bit of advice, she also writes about her experience with humor, compassion, and wit.


The second half of the book started to lose my attention. After Jessica finished with the details of her experience - Parts 1 and 2 of the novel - she delves deeper into the self-help/inspiration/motivation/support aspect that makes the reading experience feel much more like reading nonfiction than the first two parts. I started to lose interest in Part 3 because this is the part of cancer that I've read about over and over. The Grief, Strength, Attitude, etc. is generally what I've read over and over when it comes to cancer. I did not appreciate this part as much as the more detailed first two parts; however, I'm sure that for someone who is actually experiencing a similar diagnosis or supporting someone with cancer, this is the moment that could help provide momentum and strength.


Jessica has a natural writing style that is easy to read. She is a great storyteller and has a knack for punchy hashtags. Though I hope not to read a similar book by this author (#cancerfree), I would definitely pick up and read her next book.

Reviewed by

Hello! I'm an author and a book reviewer. I've reviewed ~400 Indie books since 2013 and just reached over 1000 blog posts since 2013! I love lists and challenges. I especially enjoy contemporary young adult books. I'm a fast reader and love spotting typos when reading ARCs.

A Letter to the Reader

About the author

Jessica Duemig is a breast cancer survivor & author. She was diagnosed with Triple Negative, metaplastic breast cancer in 2017 at the age of 32. She completed an aggressive treatment plan seven months later that included bilateral mastectomy, fertility preservation, chemotherapy and reconstruction. view profile

Published on August 08, 2020

40000 words

Worked with a Reedsy professional 🏆

Genre: Health & Wellbeing

Reviewed by