EMERGING: Stories from the Other Side of a Cancer Diagnosis, Loss, and a Pandemic is my newest book.
Once again, refusing to jump onto the “everything happens for a reason" bandwagon, Nancy Stordahl tackles tough topics like cancer, loss, and the COVID-19 pandemic with unflinching honesty while dismantling the back to normal myth.
Emerging also touches on the universal themes of aging, making tough decisions, resiliency, and self-acceptance. Advice offered is realistic, straight-forward, and helpful.
Stordahl reminds us we needn't pressure ourselves to emerge from any life challenge as new and improved versions of our former selves. Instead, she shines light on a kinder, gentler path to recovery and self-acceptance.
Emerging is a refreshing, encouraging read for anyone who has struggled, or is struggling, with one of life's challenges - a book you'll want to keep handy to read again and again.
What People Are Saying
“Stordahl’s first words in Emerging drew me in: ‘We all go through hard things.’ If you’ve lived a fairy-tale life with no hard things, this book is not for you. For the rest of us, Emerging offers straight talk, realistic hope, and dismantling of the myth of back to normal, and a fresh focus on emerging well.”
—Sue Robins, author of Ducks in a Row: Health Care Reimagined
“Emerging includes Nancy’s own dramatic story but also her wise perspective on the universal themes of grief, loss, aging, and making tough decisions. All this, plus humor and joy. This is ultimately a hopeful book.”
—Carolyn Thomas, founder of the award-winning blog “Heart Sisters” and author of A Woman’s Guide to Living with Heart Disease
Cancer Was Not a Gift & It Didn’t Make Me a Better Person: A memoir about cancer as I know it
Are you weary of stories portraying cancer as merely a bump in the road, an experience to be grateful for, or a chance for personal enlightenment?
Originating from personal, unrestrained journal entries, this strikingly frank memoir gives readers a glimpse into cancer’s messy realities including the multitude of emotions that arise when a family is catapulted into the world of cancer chaos. This is truth telling from a not-so-pretty-in-pink perspective, resulting in an honest, realistic portrait of family, cancer, and loss that will encourage others facing similar trials to ditch the societal expectations and instead, do things their own way. No sugarcoating. Guaranteed.
What People Are Saying
“If you’ve ever loved someone with breast cancer, cared for someone with breast cancer, faced the implications of BRCA gene mutations, or had breast cancer yourself, you will find something here that resonates with your own experience. Even if none of the above applies to you, if you want to understand, to get past the deceptive tyranny of Pinktober, or to learn about the reality of facing a life-changing catastrophe, you will learn much from Nancy.”
—Kathi Kolb
“The memoir’s narrative prose is so extraordinary that I could not stop reading this book. The memoir is not the typical breast cancer feel-good-book; instead it is a poignant account of the tragedy that is breast cancer… Stordahl is a refreshing agent for change in breast cancer culture.”
—Beth L. Gainer, author of Calling the Shots in Your Medical Care and “The Art of Self-Care” blog
ANNOUNCEMENT: If you’re a fan of audiobooks, Getting Past the Fear is now available as an audiobook on Amazon!
Getting Past the Fear: A Guide to Help You Mentally Prepare for Chemotherapy
Have you heard the words, you have cancer? Have you also heard the words, you need chemotherapy? Are you feeling stunned, overwhelmed, and afraid?
If you are facing chemotherapy for the first time, reading this guide is the next best thing to talking with someone who’s been there. It offers practical tips on how to self-advocate. It explains what to expect on that first chemo day and offers helpful strategies on how to mentally prepare before you begin.
Order Getting Past the Fear: A Guide to Help You Mentally Prepare for Chemotherapy
What People Are Saying
“This book lays out in plain language key issues to think about. It doesn't overwhelm a reader who's already overwhelmed. It's not an encyclopedia or a medical textbook or a cookbook or a spiritual retreat. One may go elsewhere for those things… This simple, straightforward book tells us that we CAN find our way through fear.”
—Sara R. Diamond, Attorney, Richmond, CA
“I like this book because it is short, easy to read, with small amounts of information to digest, important for someone who might be overwhelmed by a new diagnosis and the whirlwind of beginning treatment.”
—Alene Nitzky, Ph.D. RN, artist and author of Navigating the C: A Nurse Charts the Course for Cancer Survivorship Care and the blog, “Couch to Artist in 365”
“What a great little book! Easy to read, but full of helpful information for anyone who is starting chemotherapy.”
—Helen Bonynge
NOTE FROM NANCY: A portion of profits from all three of my books is donated annually to support research specific to metastatic breast cancer. Thank you for supporting my writing and this advocacy.