I cannot figure out who I am as a body these days, writes Caryn Mirriam- Goldberg in this powerful, tender and humorous memoir about resiliency and love in the face of cancer. Mirriam- Goldberg braves breast cancer, the breast cancer genetic mutation and the loss of a parent by connecting with an eclectic Midwest community, the land and sky, and a body undergoing vast renovation. Along the way, she swims with stingrays in the Gulf of Mexico, searches for cream puff s for a Pennsylvania funeral, leads a group fi ghting to protect ecologically-essential land in Kansas, and helps students fi nd their own voice in Vermont. In searching for a new definition of the erotic through our awareness of nature, this memoir illuminates how our bodies are our most local address on the earth. A marvelous storyteller, a wise woman, and a teacher in the true sense of the word, Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg takes us on a challenging yet ultimately joyful journey that leaves us fundamentally changed. Anyone who reads this memoir (and you must!) will never forget it. --Harriet Lerner, Ph.D, Author of The Dance of Anger (Starred Review) If you're going to write about your breast cancer diagnosis, it doesn't hurt being the poet laureate of Kansas. With a poet's eye and lyricism, Mirriam-Goldberg describes all the emotions and trials patients and their families experience, allowing readers to see past the struggle to the richness beyond. Highly recommended. --Library Journal (starred review) In this powerful, tender and humorous memoir about resiliency and love in the face of cancer, Mirriam-Goldberg braves breast cancer, the breast cancer genetic mutation and the loss of a parent by connecting with an eclectic Midwest community. Along the way, she swims with stingrays in the Gulf of Mexico, searches for cream puffs for a Pennsylvania funeral, leads a group fighting to protect ecologically-essential land in Kansas, and helps students find their own voice in Vermont. In searching for a new definition of the erotic through our awareness of nature, this memoir illuminates how our bodies are our most local address on the earth. CARYN MIRRIAM-GOLDBERG is the Poet Laureate of Kansas and a long-time bioregionalist, poet, and writer. She is the author of three collections of poetry, Animals in the House, Lot s Wife, and Reading the Body; an award-winning writing book, Write Where You Are; and the editor of e Power of Words: A Transformative Language Arts Reader. She founded and coordinates Transformative Language Arts at Goddard College, where she teaches, and she facilitates writing workshops, particularly for people living with serious illness. With rhythm and blues singer-songwriter Kelley Hunt, she also performs and leads Brave Voice writing and singing workshops and retreats. Caryn helped found the Kansas Area Watershed Council, the Continental Bioregional Congress, and the Transformative Language Arts Network. She makes her home with her family just south of Lawrence, Kansas, in the Wakarusa River valley. Used Book in Good Condition