A Guy's Guide to Throat Cancer is based on the CaringBridge journal entries Ed wrote during his battle with cancer. CaringBridge is a social media platform for people with illness to easily keep all those interested in their treatments and locations as informed as possible in an efficient way. His upbeat approach in these entries were to encourage his friends, family and colleagues to look at life through a guy's eyes, not a being a victim, and with faith in the Lord that he would pull through. Writing as if he was discussing things on a bar stool, not a hospital room. Whether it's using a dartboard in discussing chemotherapy injections, tanks and missiles in describing radiation treatments, sports analogies related to nutrition or rocking guitars to keep things high energy and fun, Ed presents the challenges of throat cancer in everyman language that'll be helpful for patients and caregivers alike.
Rossman connects by eschewing privacy and formality. He unflinchingly exposes the brutal side of treatment, from being able to “feel the burn” in his taste buds and salivary glands to his almost full time use of a feeding tube, but fights the temptation to feel sorry for himself (“Jesus didn’t indulge in pity on Calvary”). He strikes a welcome balance between encouragement and reality, all while offering practical advice to help readers facing their own cancer battles ease their physical, mental, and emotional suffering–including an array of coping skills that gave him hope on the darkest days.
Rossman offers real nuggets of wisdom, such as employing “this week” as a refrain to stay in the present, and a sobering “[I] don’t think I’ve ever been surrounded by so much sickness and death” on his last day of chemotherapy. Readers whose lives are touched by cancer will appreciate the entertainment factor as much as the valuable lessons Rossman delivers in this direct, engaging chronicle.
Takeaway: A thoroughly detailed chronicle of throat cancer treatment balanced with touching positivity and candid humor.
Great for fans of: Lysa TerKeurst’s It’s Not Supposed To Be This Way, Chris Geiger’s The Cancer Survivors Club.
Production grades
Cover: C
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: C
