Eight Billion Steps : My Impossible Quest for Cancer Comedy

Eight Billion Steps: My Impossible Quest for Cancer Comedy is a bold, life-affirming memoir that proves humor can survive—even thrive—in the darkest of circumstances. Confronting a rare salivary gland tumor with irreverent wit and unflinching honesty, the narrative weaves moments of terror, perseverance, and unexpected laughter into a story of resilience that is as moving as it is genuinely funny.

What sets Eight Billion Steps apart is its fearless balance of candor and comedy. The harsh realities of illness are never softened, yet laughter, love, and connection transform a frightening diagnosis into a powerful testament to human strength. Vivid encounters with family, medical professionals, and the inner landscape of uncertainty reveal how humor becomes both shield and lifeline. The ten-year update adds rare perspective, offering hard-won hope and a sense of endurance that lingers long after the final page.

This is not simply a cancer memoir. It is a story for anyone facing adversity, searching for meaning, or needing reassurance that joy can coexist with fear. With sharp insight, emotional depth, and unwavering humanity, Eight Billion Steps uplifts, inspires, and reminds readers that even impossible journeys can be taken one brave, defiant step at a time.

“Many believe that only those whose lives have been touched by cancer would enjoy reading books about cancer. Eight Billion Steps, however, is for everyone who appreciates the musings of a gifted writer as he attacks the illness with his irreverent sense of humor.”

“A must read! An honest account of dealing with life's worst with the power of perseverance, a great attitude, humor and love and support of friends and family. A great reminder of what is really important!”

Jeffrey Penn May has won several short fiction awards. His story "The Wells Creek Route" received a Pushcart Prize nomination, and his novel Where the River Splits, an excellent review in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Merging his outdoor interests with his writing, Jeff has published mountain climbing articles, short stories and poems. He has also written education articles and technical writing guides. His work has appeared in the US, UK, and Canada. He wrote and performed a short story for Washington University Radio and was a consultant to a St. Louis theater company. After earning his a B.A. in English and Psychology, a Masters in Secondary Education, and a Writer's Certificate from the University of Missouri, Jeff worked as a waiter, hotel security officer, credit manager, deck hand, technical data engineer, creative writing instructor, and English teacher. He was the principal of a small alternative school where he organized a fund-raising, climbing expedition and appeared in television and radio spotlights. Born at Fort Ord near Monterey, California, and raised in St. Louis, Jeff comes from a family of all boys and has always been compelled to explore the outdoors, leading to many questionable "vacations." His adventures include, but are not limited to the following: floated a home-built wood and barrel raft from St. Louis to Memphis, navigated a John boat to New Orleans, drove an old Volkswagen alone 8000 miles around the west, spent a month in a dirt floor shack in west-central Mexico digging for Pre-Colombian artifacts, climbed mountains from Alaska to South America, and spent several days in the Amazon jungle. Jeff teaches writing and fly-fishing and is a cancer survivor.