Bearing Up with Cancer: Life, and Living with…

Julie Rekai Rickerd is a Toronto-based broadcaster and public-relations
consultant.

Dr. Annie Smith is an artist, author, and lecturer in art history at
Sheridan College and the University of Toronto. She is also a 20-year
breast- and ovarian-cancer survivor. Cancer is hardly a laughing matter,
but Dr. Smith manages to instill levity into this positive, optimistic,
and pragmatic account of her personal trials and tribulations. Through
illustrations of her alter ego since childhood (a delightful Bear), and
her extraordinary refusal to weaken, she describes her battle with first
breast and then ovarian cancer, her treatments, and her survival. She
also provides excellent instructions and precautionary information to
patients with cancer (or other serious illnesses), as well as their
caregivers, families, and friends.

Dr. Smith’s courage is commendable, her artistic talents obvious.
This well-written book is inspiring, humbling, and oddly comforting.