A Very Little Cancer

Mary Gardner, a teacher and writer living in Minnesota, has written a book about her experience with, as she states, “a very little cancer.” She charts, in sharp-edged detail, the process of diagnosis, surgery, radiation, and aftercare, and her elevation to “breast cancer survivor” at the end of it all. The book is short, specific, and sassy.
It’s the “sassy” that makes this narrative unique. Garner uses her sharp eyes and ears to chart what happens to her, and she makes her own judgments. Why undertake this procedure? What is this medical infatuation with unnecessary perfection? Why assume that a certain medication, with its backpack load of side effects, is the only way to handle a situation? Why not read the medical articles yourself and form an opinion? Why be passive in the dealings with your own body?
Gardner and her body are old friends, and the relationship is dynamic. We move with her through her childhood, her adolescence, her marriage, her life with her family, and then to the cancer diagnosis. She has an objective view of them all, and she is very funny when humor is appropriate. A Very Little Cancer both entertains and educates, a seductive combination for any reader.

Mary Gardner is the author of four widely acclaimed novels--Salvation Run, Boat People, Milkweed, and Keeping Warm. She teaches at The Loft, a community writing center in Minneapolis. Her shorter work has been published in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, and the New York Times, among others. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.