“Emerging” is The New Book You Need to Read

“Your hard matters,” according to Nancy Stordahl. How true! We all experience hard things in life, albeit to varying degrees. Emerging is the new book you need to read.

I could not put it down. Typically, I am not enamored by others’ cancer stories. It is sort of a been there, done that scenario. However, Emerging is different. It hit me hard, so I wanted to write my blog about it this week.

Many on my email list have admitted they skim through my cancer blogs. And I get that. I toggle between weekly topics, including motivation, positivity, and cancer. I need to keep everyone happy! But please read this post, even if breast cancer has not affected you. Trust me; you will all learn something from it.

Do You Measure Your Life in Dog Chunks?

I am a dog lover. I take daily pictures of our dog Tucker because he is the cutest dog in the world. Besides, of course, Snickers, Apple, Muffin, and Pallie. Emotional support dogs are all the rage now for millennials. But dogs have been emotionally supporting their owners for years. Apple experienced fertility issues with me. Snickers laid by my side during breast cancer, and Muffin took me through puberty! Pallie steadfastly took Mike through childhood.

Nancy measures life in dog chunks in the book. We got our first dog when I was twelve. She was lucky enough to have dogs her whole life. There’s something about crying into a dog’s fur that is therapeutic.

Emerging After You Become Orphaned

There is a piece in this book that discusses grief/loss. In particular, grieving for your parents. It is hard. How do you function when your life-support has been unplugged? Nancy’s list of grief observations is brutally “spot on.” My parents passed ten years apart. Mom was the first to go and died almost instantly. Dad had Leukemia, and we watched him wither away. Both scenarios were horrendous. The emotional pain feels physical at times. However, that’s life; none of us leave here alive.

It’s weird to wake up one day and realize you are an orphan. You cannot prepare for it. Suddenly, you must figure out life on your own. You emerge as a new person whether you want to or not. This book explores how to navigate this stage in life. So relatable!

Do You Realize We All Emerged From a Pandemic?

There is a section in the book that discusses the Global Pandemic. You know, the one that will be in all the textbooks our grandchildren will use. It was a scary time. Work was canceled for a month, and most employees were required to work remotely. The world was upside down. Seemingly healthy people died before Doctors could figure out ways to treat the Covid 19 Virus.

Surgeries were canceled (like Nancy’s) and re-scheduled for six months later. Decisions had to be made on how to move forward safely. We were in a bad movie with no ending. The book discusses a cancer diagnosis, loss, and the pandemic.

The New Book We All Need to Read

By now, I trust you are enticed to read Emerging by Nancy Stordahl. Not just because I have (admittedly) hyped it up here but because you recognize the value of her story. It is a book filled with real-life expectations and disappointments. You can purchase it on Amazon via this link: https://www.amazon.com/Emerging-Stories-Cancer-Diagnosis-Pandemic/dp/B0C12GM7NS. It is a 101-page powerful read. (A Kindle version is also available through the same link.)

Nancy is providing me with a hard copy and a Kindle version of Emerging to give away. You must be a registered subscriber of outwittinglife to be eligible to win. Simply fill out the yellow subscriber box on my website and that will enter you in the drawing. I will randomly select two winners on Friday, September 15th.

Comment below and tell me if you plan to read Emerging. Why or why not? This is the first book review I’ve posted. Although, I did place a review on Amazon’s website. Can you tell I am a fan?

Interestingly, the Amazon review is under Loretta A. Kennedy. My Amazon account is so old it was set up in my maiden name! Too funny. Take a peek. I purposely wrote different things here than on Amazon.