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Mary L. Dunnewold
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Fine, Thanks: Stories from the Cancerland Jungle Kindle Edition

by Mary Dunnewold (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 101 ratings
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2020 Discovery Awards Winner - Memoir

2020 PenCraft Award Winner - Nonfiction (Health)

2020 Maxy Awards Finalist - Nonfiction

"An appealing, sharply self-inquisitive remembrance." –Kirkus Reviews

Mary Dunnewold was a yoga-practicing, organic-food-eating health geek. But six months after a clear mammogram, she was diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer. She had six tumors. The largest was the size of a summer plum.

In the next two years, she endured a bilateral mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation, and multiple reconstruction procedures. But she soon learned that navigating cancer involves more than suffering through the treatment gauntlet. How do you walk the aisles of a small-town Target, guilty of having cancer in public, wondering who knows and who doesn’t? Where do you look when the handsome plastic surgeon kneels in front of you to measure your body fat? What etiquette applies when, during a dinner party, your chest splits open like an overripe watermelon?

In this memoir, the author moves from needing a reason to explain her troubles to finding meaning despite the randomness that afflicts us all.

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  1. Print length
    219 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    October 24, 2019
  5. File size
    1248 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
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  8. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

Review

2020 Discovery Awards Winner - Memoir

2020 Maxy Awards Finalist - Nonfiction

2020 PenCraft Award Winner - Nonfiction (Health)

"An appealing, sharply self-inquisitive remembrance." -Kirkus Reviews

"Despite its dark subject matter, Mary Dunnewold's FINE, THANKS: Stories from the Cancerland Jungle is an eloquent, poignant, life-affirming and surprisingly witty memoir well worth reader's time." -IndieReader Approved

About the Author

Mary Dunnewold is a writer, lawyer, and educator. She holds a BA from St. Olaf College, an MA from the University of Minnesota, and a JD from the University of Minnesota School of Law. She lives in Northfield, Minnesota, where the sign welcoming visitors to town promises, "Cows, Colleges, and Contentment." Mostly, the town follows through on that promise.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07Z46B5HF
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Black Rose Writing (October 24, 2019)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 24, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1248 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 219 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 101 ratings

About the author

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Mary L. Dunnewold

Mary L. Dunnewold

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Mary Dunnewold is a lawyer and educator who currently does sexual misconduct prevention and response work for higher education institutions. Her writing has appeared in Brain, Child magazine, nou.org, The Fergus Falls Review, The Red Hen, and Coping magazine. She has also written extensively about legal writing, legal professionalism, and law school, including writing a regular column for the ABA Student Lawyer magazine.

Mary holds a BA from St. Olaf College, an MA in Anthropology from the University of Minnesota, and a JD from the University of Minnesota School of Law. She lives in Northfield, Minnesota, where the sign welcoming you to town, sited in the shadow of the deliciously aromatic Malt-O-Meal factory, promises “Cows, Colleges, and Contentment.” Mostly, the town follows through on that promise.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
101 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Gus in Minnesota
5.0 out of 5 stars Realistic and very helpful
Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2024
Verified Purchase
My daughter has stage 3 breast cancer and is on this journey.
I appreciate the information, honesty, irreverence and humor. It helps me more fully understand what she is going through.
I sometimes read a paragraph to her and she says “ So true! Or me too!”
She’s not ready to read it yet.
But I am grateful and am recommending it to a friend whose daughter is also on this journey.
Thank you, Mary!
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Realistic and heart wrenching
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2019
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Thanks, Mary, for making it real. Six months ago we discovered through Ancestry that my husband’s high school girlfriend had given birth fifty years earlier to his daughter. The mother didn’t know who the father was and so he never knew as he had left for navy boot camp two weeks later. Such a happy surprise, as we got to know her, first through phone calls and texts, then video chats, finally her visit to our home in NJ (she lives in Florida). Her mother had used drugs and alcohol throughout the pregnancy, we learned, and after being surrendered for adoption at the age of four, at the age of six her new parents discovered she had a softball sized tumor on her kidney. The child endured surgery, chemo and radiation, and she remembers it as being as rough as you have described. Two weeks ago, serious abdominal pains sent her to the ER, and we flew the thousand miles to help care for her, cook for her and her husband, and get her well again. BUT - and it’s a very big BUT - the pain has been discovered to be inoperable stage four pancreatic cancer and she is terminal. She calmly explained to the doctor that she refused to deal with chemo again, when there was little chance it would buy her any time. We flew her back to NJ to care for her in our large home, because she was raised here and her adoptive family and friends can be here. She always insists she’s “fine,” and we tease her about that, while admiring her spirit. For all of us, we are learning to not only accept but to ask for help, instead of insisting we are “fine,” too. It’s only one week since the diagnosis and your book hit home for me. as we struggle with losing the child we just gained and trying to make as many memories as we can, while we can.
7 people found this helpful
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Sue's Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable, informative and inspiring memoir. Five enthusiastic stars!
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2020
Verified Purchase
I'm so glad I found this heartwarming gem! I rarely read a book about cancer, because they're pretty depressing, right? Not this one! Equal parts enjoyable, informative and inspiring, the author's compelling narrative grabbed me from the very first page as she described her difficult journey through the Cancerland Jungle.

Diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer, the author underwent the standard "slash, poison and burn" procedures: a bilateral mastectomy followed by chemotherapy and radiation. She also chose to begin breast reconstruction immediately after her mastectomy--a decision that led to major difficulties along the way.

Told with intimate details from beginning to end, the story is laced with humor and rich with similes and metaphors, making this book both entertaining and educational. I now have a better appreciation for what my sister-in-law went through with her Stage 3 breast cancer a few years ago. (She declined reconstructive surgery and is glad she did.)

This book is a "must read" guidebook for the thousands of woman entering the Cancerland Jungle each year, as well as for their family members and friends. Having read it, I feel an almost personal connection to the author and her family. (I hope Sam is doing well.) As a native Minnesotan, I enjoyed revisiting some familiar places, like the "underground shopping maze" in Rochester.

I have one technical criticism. In the Kindle version, Chapter Two is identical to Chapter One. This needs to be corrected. Other than that unfortunate snafu, the book is well edited and proofread. Kudos also for the intriguing cover, which captured my attention the instant I saw it. Despite that duplicate chapter, this book easily earns five enthusiastic stars!
One person found this helpful
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JolieMaman
4.0 out of 5 stars Is it ok to say I enjoyed this?
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2019
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Candid yet warm, with a sprinkling of wit. There is honesty, frailty, and courage, including sharing such a personal journey with the public.
One person found this helpful
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Tlm
3.0 out of 5 stars Why
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2020
This is about a woman with breast cancer .She ends up having other medical complications during her recovery with her cancet
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed this memoir very much.
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2022
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The author really let us see and experience her cancer battle in a personal way. She exhibited amazing stamina through it all. She has a very positive view of life.
One person found this helpful
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Just Another Dawn
5.0 out of 5 stars Intense read
Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2019
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Tells all about her diagnosis/treatment plan/surgery/chemo/radiation and the entire journey of her breast cancer that was diagnosed only six months after an 'OK" mammogram. Lots of ups and downs along the way. Should be helpful for someone else along on a similar journey.

My sister is traveling a similar path (breast cancer that has metastasized, unfortunately). As a caregiver/spouse I was there for my husband's two year attempt at beating esophageal cancer so I can 'sort of' relate.
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Linda Campbell
5.0 out of 5 stars A story of courage and perseverance
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2020
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This is a wonderfully written story by a woman who lived through cancer surgeries and treatments and various other health issues with tremendous strength and courage. It portrays fear, pain, love and kindness of family, friends and strangers, determination, and finally recovery. It's uplifting and worth reading, especially for anyone who has had cancer or knows someone who's had it.
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Top reviews from other countries

websister
5.0 out of 5 stars Telling it like it is with humour and honesty
Reviewed in Canada on March 21, 2021
Verified Purchase
I was curious to read this book after hearing about it following my own breast cancer journey. I enjoyed how the author told her story, relating to many of the experiences she went through as I read.
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Anon
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant story of human spirit.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 5, 2021
Verified Purchase
Whilst going through the same journey I was intrigued to find that many of my thoughts that I keep to myself were there. I don't feel like the hero my family think I am. I have doubts and fears but will not let them overtake my life. I crave the carefree attitude I had before diagnosis. It is gone forever but I will stive to continue to give cancer no respect whatsoever.
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GJFree
5.0 out of 5 stars well written about her personal experience with lots of information
Reviewed in Germany on November 21, 2019
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed reading this book very much - despite the sometimes very difficult passages. I hope I never need the information that Mary shares about her life with cancer. A very candid and open book about her experience with cancer - the doctors, the nurses, the technicians and chemo and radiation. Not pretty. Luckily she had a great family and good friends. Learned a lot about cancer treatment and breast reconstruction.
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