Getting Through It Cover TO USE paperback $15.20; audiobook $19.95 ($0 with Audible subscription); eBook $9.99 on Kindle, Nook, Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play

(cover by
Susan Erony)

Getting Through It: My Year of Cancer during Covid by Helen Epstein (51,000 words)

Just after Covid arrived in North America, journalist Helen Epstein was diagnosed with endometrial cancer — one of a predicted 66,570 new cases of cancer of the uterine body in the United States in 2021. About 600,000 American women have had it. A candid and eye-opening account of a medical steeplechase of surgery, chemo and radiation therapy,
Getting Through It brings together reporting, research and elements of memoir to tell an important story. A guide for other women, their caregivers, and their families. The author discusses the book in the Washington Post.


“The book is both absorbing and admirable.” —
Vivian Gornick, author of Fierce Attachments

“There are a lot of ‘cancer memoirs’ out there, but Helen Epstein has accomplished something singular. The candor is exemplary, the detail is remarkable. This is the story of how not only a woman, but a marriage goes through a life-threatening ordeal. A powerful story — and even at key moments funny and always keenly honest. A must read not only for cancer patients and their caregivers, but for anyone (me, for example) who has frequent worried moments.” —
Patricia Hampl, author of The Art of the Wasted Day

“What a resource this book is — for cancer patients and all of us who find ourselves living with and reflecting on ‘illness, death and new ways of coming back to life.’” —
Margo Jefferson, author of Constructing a Nervous System

“An unflinching, unsqueamish and eloquent account of cancer by a woman who beat it and can show the rest of us how it's done. Patients, friends and family of patients, and members of the medical profession will appreciate this acute, revealing report from the front lines.” —
Dr. Cristina Nehring, author of A Vindication of Love: Reclaiming Romance for the 21st Century

“In this eloquent narrative, journalist Helen Epstein brings her decades of skill to the tasks of chronicling the ‘badge of illness’ that a gynecological cancer diagnosis brought her. Unsparing in its measure of fear, chemically induced forgetting, and loss of control, we are treated to an honest appraisal of the cancer experience. This book is at once a reminder of our expectation of independence and the need for dependence that makes us deeply human.” —
Susan M. Reverby, Professor Emerita, Women’s and Gender Studies, Wellesley College

“A fast read and eye-opening memoir that both doctors and patients will find valuable. Frank and funny, Epstein describes the myriad of life complexities, doubts, unanswered questions, and fears experienced by cancer patients and the people who love them.” —
Audrey Konow, MD, Providence St. Jude Medical Center

“A profoundly important book — not only for cancer patients, but for their families, friends, policy makers, and health care professionals. Epstein writes with breathtaking clarity about the challenges of undergoing treatment for a silent killer. Candid, compelling and psychologically astute.” —
Helen Fremont, author of The Escape Artist

“Helen Epstein has a way of sharing intimate details of difficulties in her life that resonates with thousands of readers. Her no-holds-barred memoir and how-to of being diagnosed and treated for GYN cancer breaks many taboos in the medical and psychological conversation. Her page-turner of resilience will open up dialogue between patients, medical staff, friends and family members in this increasingly common part of 21st century life.” —
Dr. Eva Fogelman, author of Conscience and Courage

“In this astonishingly candid book, Helen applies her laser focus to the day-to-day, sometimes minute-to-minute experience of cancer and its treatments during a pandemic. She describes a cast of fascinating doctors and nurses and the sometimes unexpected behavior of friends. Most beautiful is the inspiring portrait of her marriage with a partner who is there every step of the way. An enormously engaging, compulsively readable memoir.” —
Susan Miron, Book Critic-at-Large