WARRIOR: CHALLENGE ACCEPTED by Jessica Duemig

A Women’s Health/Cancer Novel published by Bright Publishing, LLC (08/11/20)

First reviewed through Reedsy Discovery

Summary:

One woman’s story of and experience with a triple-negative breast cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment and recovery. The story follows the nine most challenging months of her 32-year old life.

Keywords:

Women’s Health, Cancer, Breast Cancer Survivor, Triple Negative Breast Cancer, 2017, Age 32, Aggressive Treatment Plan, Chemotherapy, Surgery, Fertility Preservation, Reconstruction

My Review:

I zipped through the first half of the book, mesmerized with Jessica’s story and all the fascinating details of a breast cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment. Jessica’s writing style is charming and humorous. She provides the full picture, filling in all the little details as she tells her story. As someone who has not had firsthand or even secondhand experience or knowledge of cancer of any kind (let alone breast cancer), I felt like I could truly empathize with Jessica’s story and truly understand what she was going through. I know cancer is no joke but I never really knew what it felt like to go through a double mastectomy surgery and recovery before reading her story. Jessica was just one year older than me when she was diagnosed and she brought a little more fear of this unknown into my heart. But she also laid it all out there. If I were to receive a similar diagnosis or knew someone going through something similar, I would definitely recommend a book like this. Fear of the unknown can grip you and fester but knowing all these little details could pull back some of that worry. And Jessica writes about her experience with more than just details, firsthand knowledge, and a little bit of advice, she also writes about her experience with humor, compassion, and wit.

The second half of the book started to lose my attention. After Jessica finished with the details of her experience – Parts 1 and 2 of the novel – she delves deeper into the self-help/inspiration/motivation/support aspect that makes the reading experience feel much more like reading nonfiction than the first two parts. I started to lose interest in Part 3 because this is the part of cancer that I’ve read about over and over. The Grief, Strength, Attitude, etc. is generally what I’ve read over and over when it comes to cancer. I did not appreciate this part as much as the more detailed first two parts; however, I’m sure that for someone who is actually experiencing a similar diagnosis or supporting someone with cancer, this is the moment that could help provide momentum and strength.

Jessica has a natural writing style that is easy to read. She is a great storyteller and has a knack for punchy hashtags. Though I hope not to read a similar book by this author (#cancerfree), I would definitely pick up and read her next book.

This novel was published by Bright Publishing, LLC on 08/11/2020 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 3.75

Links for more information:

Goodreads