The Ride of the Amazon

“Happy people have no story; they create their own.”

Claude Roy, Le malheur d’aimer

If such had been the case for Gisèle Mayet-Albagnac, she would have had to create her story from 1951 to 2012 as this span of time was a delight for her in every respect: a childhood filled with golden memories, a loving family, a blissful married life, an exciting teaching career, a treasured position as a mother and a grand-mother… But from then on, all took a nasty turn after her beloved husband’s sudden death and the straight punch dealt in her face by the news of a totally unexpected breast cancer.

Thereupon, memories came back to her: her boundless admiration for her father, a courageous firefighter and for her mother whose motto was “Sink or swim”. She naturally decided to swim, to draw on her hidden resources and take on the position of a patient who happens to suffer from cancer, determined to forsake it the day she would hold high the flag of victory. Here she talks about the beginning of the second part of her life, the story of a five-year-long medical crusade meant to help her fellow patients suffering from cancer or from any other long-term diseases to come alive again and fight more efficiently.

Each of them will have his or her own story but the universal character of the resources the author manages to tap into so as to win her battle against “the crab” is whole-heartedly offered to those who, rather than bear, will do their utmost to become the warriors they are able to be, the determined actors of their own recovery.

A personal philosophy and a strength to live: an absolute must-read!

Translated from French by Hélène Huguet.