Between Me and the River: Living Beyond Cancer: a memoir

Carrie Host had a great life - three wonderful children, the youngest just ten months old. A loving husband, great friends, beautiful home in Boulder, Colorado. And then out of nowhere she is diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer, carcinoid tumors in her abdomen and a variety of other organs.
Looking at Host's picture in the back flap, her beauty is obvious and it is almost impossible to imagine that at one point she questioned whether she would survive her battle with cancer. Host shares personal information about her struggles - physical and emotional. She knows her diagnosis will forever change her children, two who are entering their teen years. She longs for them to have the carefree lifestyle she did at their age, but knows that her news will make them grow up quickly. As a mother she puts her children first and battles to keep her emotions in check, trying to remain upbeat about her future. While she would prefer to stay in Boulder and receive treatment close to home, it becomes obvious quickly that she will need to receive care at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Host develops many physical ailments after her initial diagnosis - one life threatening battle with sepsis that rages through her body as she and her husband quickly fly back to the Mayo Clinic for her to be admitted.
While doctors remove her tumors and Host would like to believe she can resume her life, her world is changed forever. First of all, she is no longer the physically fit, active mother of a few months ago. She must start from scratch in returning to health. She is also emotionally changed from her battle. Doctors share with her survival rate statistics, and she realizes she may have to face her cancer again and again.
I appreciated Host's honesty and her ability to bare her soul to readers. She likens her cancer journey to being hurled into a raging river and her battle as a struggle for shore. This is a battle she intends to win.
Host's book has already been listed on Indiebound's list of must reads for the month of August. I received my copy from Online Publicist last month and have been waiting to review Between Me and the River until this week, during the book's blog tour.
Visit Carrie Hosts' website to learn more about this remarkable woman and her memoir.