THE END OF MY LIFE IS KILLING ME

A very funny writer tackles the ultimate unfunny topic: lung cancer.

In her sixth book, actress and author Gurwitch reports that in June 2020, the doctor who gave her the results of her parking lot Covid-19 test suggested she have a chest X-ray for her “little cough.” By the time she got home, she had learned—on speakerphone, with her recent-college-graduate son in the car—that she had a concerning mass on her lung. This was soon revealed to be stage 4 lung cancer, too advanced for surgery. This memoir chronicles her life since then, and the good news is not only that she has had a life since then but that she is able to recount its ups and downs with her trademark wit fully operational. Her particular type of cancer qualified her for a targeted biomarker therapy that involves taking a single pill each day; she has so far been able to avoid chemotherapy and radiation. As the pandemic settled in, she was also dealing with a slowly unfolding divorce mediation, even more excruciating when it moved online. “And when your internet goes down mid-session, which it will, ‘connection lost’ will appear on your screen, as if you weren’t already aware of that.” She Googled “cancer dating” and found a website that offered to match her with 890 “cancers” in her zip code, which seemed terrifying until she realized it was the astrological sign they meant, not the disease. Then she reconnected with an old crush who had recently become the manager of a heavy-metal band, and he invited her to join them on their European tour in a role she describes as “Merch Crone.” As she had educated herself about her disease and took advantage of various support options, she had op-ed pieces published in major newspapers, becoming a public cancer advocate and attending conferences all over the world.

Sure to be warmly embraced and appreciated by those dealing with cancer close to home.