I LOVE YOU MORE...TO SUZANNE, FROM MARK

In this memoir, an executive becomes an alternative medicine advocate after he and his wife are diagnosed with cancer.

Mallardi wasn’t looking for love when he met Suzanne Gracie. He was just a guy fresh out of his second marriage, searching for a condo, and Suzanne was his realtor. But after the author’s sick dog disrupted his holiday plans and he ended up at Suzanne’s New Year’s Eve party, their relationship turned romantic and they married in 2011. Mallardi and Suzanne were raised Roman Catholic, and their commitment to their faith deepened when they traveled to Mexico, Turkey, and Italy. At the beginning of their marriage, their love was only tested “by the endless time and effort” the author devoted to his entrepreneurial career. But in 2021, he discovered he had prostate cancer while Suzanne was diagnosed with bile duct cancer. They desperately researched possible treatments, encountering dismissive doctors and the medical establishment’s general scorn for alternative therapies. “All paths seemed to lead back to toxic high-dose chemotherapy being the only ‘hope’ ” until Mallardi learned of a clinic in Mexico called CHIPSA that supposedly provided the best alternative cancer treatments. But by that point, Suzanne was too ill to travel, and if Mallardi did not get to the clinic quickly, he would lose his place. He made the difficult decision to head to Mexico, and Suzanne died three days later. The compassionate treatment he received in Mexico shrunk his root tumor and led to a bone density scan that even a skeptical oncologist said resembled “that of a 30-year-old, 300-pound football player.” As his health improved, the author dedicated himself to “raising widespread awareness of the existence and efficacy of Alternative, Non-Toxic cancer treatments outside the U.S., in order to bring Hope to newly diagnosed cancer patients.” The author’s love for his wife and strong commitment to alternative cancer treatments are palpable throughout his absorbing and moving book. In addition, his research regarding alternative therapies is extensive, offering rich and thought-provoking details. But his message would be even more powerful if the story were more tightly structured. For example, Mallardi includes tales about his father’s military service and Suzanne’s connections to the world of mixed martial arts that are intriguing but not central to the author’s message.

An engrossing but meandering clarion call for increasing Americans’ access to alternative cancer treatments.