Oct. 30 - Gilda Radner -

From LBBC.org: 

Breast Cancer Awareness Month Recommended Reading, 

Part I: “Butterfly Wishes on Wings” and “It’s Always Something”

As Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) 2013 comes to a close, our dedicated staff, volunteers and contributors want to share recommended reading that will inspire you, make you laugh and, above all, help you realize you are not alone.

First up, regular blog contributor Ronda Walker Weaver.


It’s Always Something: Twentieth Anniversary Edition (Written by Gilda Radner, published by Simon & Schuster, 2009).

During my chemo treatments, a neighbor knocked on my door, handed me a book, and said, “I found this at the library sale. I hope you’re not offended. She died, but I thought you might enjoy reading it.”
Radner’s “It’s Always Something” is intensely honest. Giving a glimpse into her life as an original member of “Saturday Night Live,” her marriage to actor Gene Wilder and her life with cancer, Radner made me laugh and cry while confirming the need for peer support and devoted caregivers.
Radner did not have breast cancer (she had ovarian cancer), yet her statements reminded me that I was not alone in my cancer journey, especially statements like these:
“Still, even after a lovely dinner, I came home in my new clothes and felt depressed. When I took off my outfit, there was my bald head. I was still a cancer patient. I was different.”
 “Ooh, I hate this, I want to run away, let me get out of this.”
Radner’s overarching message is, “Never give up.” She faced her cancer head-on, dealt with the changes and fears that came her way, and then was brave enough to share her story. If you want validation of your cancer journey, this is the book to read.

- Ronda Walker Weaver