Between Two Kingdoms / Suleika Jaouad. 4 stars

[LibraryCin]

The author was only 22/23-years old when she was diagnosed with leukemia. She had just finished university and was looking forward to her future. She had just started a new relationship (a few months previous) and the two of them had just moved to Paris. They came back to the US and moved in with her parents so she could get the treatment she needed. The treatment went on for 3-4 years, and it took a toll on her relationship.

She did recover, but wasn’t sure what to do next. She decided to take a road trip around the perimeter of the US and she planned to visit people she had met or just corresponded with while she was being treated for her cancer. She had been writing newspaper columns during her treatment, so she was known throughout the US.

I found the first half, with all the medicine and treatments and trying to hold her relationship together much more interesting than her road trip. I almost lowered my rating due to the road trip, but decided to leave it where it is. The most interesting person (for me) she met on the road trip was the man on death row in Texas. He wrote to her early on in her cancer journey, and the parallels were really surprising to me. Something that scared me about the book was how much support and help she needed throughout. I live alone and likely always will. My mom has had breast cancer twice. How will I take care of myself and my cats if I was to become so ill that I need those kinds of treatments? It’s a scary thought.