Has anyone here read this book?

M. Engelberg, 48, author

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

October 20, 2006

Miriam Engelberg, a graphic author diagnosed with breast cancer who found
improbable humor in her own terminal illness, has died at home in San
Francisco. She was 48.

Engelberg's publisher, HarperCollins, said that friends and family,
including her husband Jim and son Aaron were at her bedside when she died
Tuesday.

Engelberg's "Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person: A Memoir in Comics" came out
last spring, with Engelberg adding her own humorous spin on the deadly
illness.

"I'd be telling a friend something upsetting about the latest twist and turn
in my cancer saga, but as the words came out of my mouth they would turn
into something absurd and we'd both end up laughing," she wrote.

Before she was diagnosed in 2001, she worked for a San Francisco nonprofit
called Compass Point doing computer work, and published a comic book,
"Planet 501c3," about the nonprofit world. She had no formal drawing
training, and her style was basic; the book is in black and white.

"I started doing this before I was diagnosed with cancer," she told the AP.
"I started doing cartoons when my son was a baby to relieve stress. I wrote
the first one about waiting to hear about the results from my mammogram. It
just came out of that."

As she finished her book, she thought she had a happy ending: a successful
round of radiation and chemotherapy. But then she got the news that the
cancer was spreading. She decided to add a few panels about it.

"I hate to think of it as therapy," Engelberg, a native of Philadelphia,
said during an interview early this year. "But it did help me get through
it, to have a purpose." Still, she kept her sense of humor.

"You know, my first thought when I heard was, 'I hope it doesn't hurt my
book sales,'" she quipped.

Of her illness, Engelberg once wrote, "Have I really become a shallower
person since cancer? Some of my friends beg to differ and state
unequivocally that I was already shallow before cancer."

Funeral arrangements were pending.
Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc.

On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 00:42:02 GMT, "Eva"
<EvaDStructionNOT@NOTverizon.net> wrote:

>
>Miriam Engelberg, a graphic author diagnosed with breast cancer who found
>improbable humor in her own terminal illness, has died at home in San
>Francisco. She was 48.
>
>Engelberg's publisher, HarperCollins, said that friends and family,
>including her husband Jim and son Aaron were at her bedside when she died
>Tuesday.
>
>Engelberg's "Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person: A Memoir in Comics" came out
>last spring, with Engelberg adding her own humorous spin on the deadly
>illness.
>
>"I'd be telling a friend something upsetting about the latest twist and turn
>in my cancer saga, but as the words came out of my mouth they would turn
>into something absurd and we'd both end up laughing," she wrote.
>
>Before she was diagnosed in 2001, she worked for a San Francisco nonprofit
>called Compass Point doing computer work, and published a comic book,
>"Planet 501c3," about the nonprofit world. She had no formal drawing
>training, and her style was basic; the book is in black and white.
>
>"I started doing this before I was diagnosed with cancer," she told the AP.
>"I started doing cartoons when my son was a baby to relieve stress. I wrote
>the first one about waiting to hear about the results from my mammogram. It
>just came out of that."
>
I heard her on the radio (CBC in Canada) not too long ago. I came in
mid-way through so I don't know when it was recorded. She was very smart
and funny and there was nothing in the part I heard that indicated that
she was going to die. Very sad, and too young, as always.

Marilyn

I have heard of this book, but didn't find it at the bookstore, instead
bought Noon at Nordies a story of 4 young women with breast cancer.

I have the book but haven't read it...now in memory of her I will. I rec'd
so many books that I am just reading some now. I am going for
reconstruction soon and this whole breast cancer is scary. I had positive
nodes as well and one never knows. I live for the moment and try to enjoy
my family.
Pami

"pami" <pdefraia@hvc.rr.com> wrote in message
news:FKU_g.3698$Fw5.1556@news-wrt-01.rdc-nyc.rr.com...
> I have the book but haven't read it...now in memory of her I will. I
rec'd
> so many books that I am just reading some now. I am going for
> reconstruction soon and this whole breast cancer is scary. I had
positive
> nodes as well and one never knows. I live for the moment and try to enjoy
> my family.
---------------
I forget, what kind of reconstruction are you planning to have? Good luck
with it. I'm pretty happy with mine. It's not like a real breast, but it's
much more comfortable and convenient than a removable prosthesis. I don't
have to worry about losing it!

Eva

I am getting the silicone implant. I am glad to hear your pleased. I know
it won't be like the real deal.... but better than wearing clothes with one
breast.
Pami