Tuesday, March 19, 2019

The Unwinding of the Miracle - Julie Yip-Williams

The author Julie Yip-Williams leads us through her journey of being diagnosed at age 37 with stage IV bowel cancer.  After a difficult start of being born in Vietnam nearly blind with cataracts and escape with her family by boat, Julie fights to make her life normal, to learn and study, travel and find love - all the things that her family did not think possible for her.

Now as a lawyer, married with two young daughters she has to face her new diagnosis and learn to live with her terminal cancer.  Her book was initially a blog, so at time it may come across as a bit disjointed but I did enjoy reading her story.  Her honesty about her worries for the future, for her daughters and husband, her fear about dying, of leaving her family behind. 

A special type of memoir, and I was touched especially by the last few chapters where she talks about final meetings with her parents and siblings, and her letters to her husband and daughters, all so very moving.  5/5

1 comment:

John Bellen said...

Such a diagnosis must be very hard to take, and I don't know whether it would be harder if one had a family to leave, or were facing it alone.