Wrestling With the Angel: A Memoir of My Triumph over Illness

by Max Lerner

A veteran ofjournalism, history, and the human sciences recounts his battles with cancer and a heart attack, stressing the importance of his supportive family and the care and compassion of skilled physicians

Genres: Memoir

210 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1990

About the author

Maxwell "Max" Alan Lerner was an American journalist and educator known for his controversial syndicated column. Lerner earned a B.A. from Yale University in 1923. He studied law there, but transferred to Washington University in St. Louis for an M.A. in 1925. He earned a doctorate from the Brookings Institution in 1927.

After completing his education Lerner found employment as both an educator and as a journalist. He began work as an editor, first for the Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences from 1927 until 1932, then The Nation from 1936 until 1938 and PM from 1943 until 1948. During these years Lerner taught at Sarah Lawrence College, the Wellesley Summer Institute, Harvard University, and Williams College. In 1949 Lerner started writing a column for the New York Post, which he wrote until just before his death in 1992.

Reviews

[Mary Karpel-Jergic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered this author whilst reading his son's amazing book 'Choices in Healing'. I was so impressed by the latter that I wanted to get to know his father who was referred to in the book as an example of healing from life-threatening illness.

Max Lerner was a wonderful writer and I suspect a formidable old man. Two cancers and a heart attack, all arriving when he was past 78 years of age. He articulates his experience of illness and of the medical establishment practices in a manner which I think will resonate with many people. He also pulls no punches when it comes to ageing. Max Lerner's spirit lives on in his words.

"it is the theme of this memoir that all illness and healing, all ageing, all living and dying, are a wrestling with the angel."

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is different than many others in this genre in that the writer was 78 years old when lymphoma, metastic prostate cancer, and a heart attack caught up with him; not all at once but in the span of five or so years. In my view he had already been blessed with a long and fruitful life. Lerner, however, "could not imagine a world without him" as expressed by his daughter, and doggedly pursued triumph over the illnesses while continuing to pursue his love of words through writing and university teaching around the country.

While I may not agree with his ideas or appreciate the full size of his ego; his sense of self-importance, I admire his tremendous verve and energy for life and learning. His large world of knowledge permeates his writing and makes it an interesting read.

At the end he reflects on aging and dying. This Russian-born former war correspondent, political writer, university professor, and father of six children lived to be 89 years old.