Reader Views

March Forth: My Journey through Diagnosis, Treatment, and Recovery from Breast Cancer

Hearing about breast cancer, Susan G. Komen and the ‘Race for the Cure’ are commonplace in our fast-paced world of information.  However, do we really know what it means to endure this diagnosis?  To play waiting games with medical tests or paperwork games with insurance companies?  What about the physical, mental, and emotional battles which go along with chemotherapy?  Author and cancer survivor Marci A. Schmitt spells it all out in her book, “March Forth: My Journey through Diagnosis, Treatment, and Recovery from Breast Cancer.”

“March Forth” is an eye-opening personal account of one brave woman’s life-changing experiences with breast cancer.  Told from the first person, Schmitt includes every step in her journey toward freedom.  After having to watch her mother die of the same disease, she ‘marches forth’ at each chapter’s end as obstacle after obstacle seem to line up and obstruct her path to good health.  After two mastectomies – and not even at the same time – Schmitt maintains a playful wit while looking the unimaginable in the eyes and holding on where most of us would think we would surely fail.  Her vivid descriptions of chemotherapy horrors brought many tears to my eyes and helped me better understand how debilitating these treatments can be on the human body.  Thankfully, the book ends on a positive note with Schmitt alive and doing extremely well.

“March Forth” is a beautifully inspirational read for anyone having to go through cancer themselves as well as those hoping to be a supportive and understanding friend for someone else.  It gives the down and dirty on what someone might expect when dealing with this disease but it also presents advice on how you could effectively help someone going through a cancer diagnosis and treatment.  These recommendations can potentially assist in lessening any awkward or uncomfortable moments where someone may not really know what to do or say to be empathetic.

Schmitt is exceptional in recounting her story, describing her situations with detailed clarity, organizing her thoughts, and letting her strength and faith shine through her words.  She describes ‘chemo brain’ towards the end of her story but I didn’t find anything random or foggy about her.


March Forth: My Journey through Diagnosis, Treatment, and Recovery from Breast Cancer
Marci A. Schmitt
Outskirts Press (2011)
ISBN 9781432776008
Reviewed by Vicki Liston for Reader Views (12/11)

Many Blessings: A Tapestry of Accomplished African American Women

When I moved to the USA a good decade ago, I got immediately immersed in the African-American community. Living in New Orleans will do that to you for sure, since the Big Easy is a city where a good few racial lines are nicely blurred. Unfortunately that does not mean that color lines do not exist there, or that people are color blind. Being Caucasian myself, and from a place which hardly ever sees people of color, the African-American community was a big surprise to me, and I quickly get to realize how little I really knew about it. Just like Dr. Weedn I felt a strong need to learn more, and I have been continuing that process throughout the years. This might well be an additional reason why I liked “Many Blessings” so much, not that there is any shortage of great reasons to like it anyhow. We all need to understand the people living next door to us, and I often feel this is something sorely lacking in the American culture today.


Many Blessings: A Tapestry of Accomplished African American Women
Sonnee Weedn, PhD
Chispa Publishing (2011)
ISBN 9780983277606
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (12/11)

One of the very present and often expressed thoughts in the African-American society seems to be, “But we do not have any role models!” I have heard it all too often and while I could not have disagreed more simply by looking around myself and seeing all the people making so much difference on a daily basis, I do recognize the need for something tangible that goes beyond the likes of media stars, regardless of how powerful, successful and inspiring they might be. Whether we like it or not, very few people will ever have the chance to change things on a scale of Oprah or Iman, to name just two of them. That’s where the wonderful “Many Blessings” comes in. Dr. Weedn interviewed thirty-one African-American women from many different walks of life, dividing the book into sections named after the predominant characteristic shared by them. Here we find the Survivors, the Inspirers, the Nurturers, the Crusaders, the Creatives, the Academics, and the Beauties.  While I definitely love those titles, I felt quite strongly that all of those women could certainly represent more than a single of those categories. I have never heard of any of them, yet every one of their stories was an incredible inspiration and a guiding light to building a better future.

While the book is clearly geared towards the African-American audiences, I believe it should be required reading for anybody who would like to understand and appreciate this great country better. Everybody could and should be inspired by those stories of courage, overcoming their adversity, creating a wonderful today and an even better tomorrow. “Many Blessings” is a book to be shared with people whom you love, and with those who need to learn how to love better.