Emphasizing personal style, Joan Barzilay Freund’s Defining Style is a freeing, inspiring and extremely innovative look at interior design.

History, Nonfiction, Women's History

Expect Great Things!

The inspiring, companionable Expect Great Things! celebrates the legacy of the Katharine Gibbs School for women and its tenacious scholars.

American History, History, Nonfiction, Women's History

Nonfiction Women's History History American History

Propaganda Girls

Staking new ground in the well-worn World War II setting, Propaganda Girls collects the stories of four women fighting—winning—the information war.

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Jill Lepore

by Amy Scribner

Family & Relationships, Nonfiction, Parenting

Nonfiction Parenting Family & Relationships

Andrew Solomon

Interview by Kate Pritchard

by Kate Pritchard

Andrew Solomon takes the subjects of his books very seriously, exploring them at great length, often for years at a time. His latest book, Far from the Tree (now out in paperback), which examines the families of children who are profoundly different from their parents, was more than a decade in the making. Solomon interviewed hundreds of families, as well as doctors, researchers, activists and anyone else who could offer him insight. He writes about schizophrenic children, children with Down syndrome, children born with multiple severe disabilities and even child prodigies, but at heart the book is about what it means for a parent to love a child who is different—as all children are, in one way or another—and to love the difference in that child.

Solomon answered a few questions for BookPage about the families he spoke with, the writing process and how his research has influenced his relationship with his own children.

This book is such a massive undertaking, with a wide breadth of experiences covered and hundreds of families interviewed. At what point did you realize just how huge the book was going to be? Were you ever tempted to pare it down?

If I’d known how huge it was going to be, I probably wouldn’t have started with it—it was a sprawling undertaking and utterly overwhelming. But as I kept working, I felt more and more strongly that I needed to write about the breadth and nuance of the questions I was tackling. I felt I couldn’t make the broad generalizations without having the foot soldiers of narrative. Having said that, I did pare the book down a great deal; the first draft was twice the length of the final version.

The families you spoke with included deaf children, transgender children, children of rape, children with autism, child prodigies and more, all of whom come with unique sets of challenges and particular joys. How often did you find yourself comparing one set of children with another, and in what ways?

The book is not about the individual syndromes, though it covers them in considerable detail. The book is about the similarities between these various experiences. I have posited that the negotiation of the difference one sees in one’s children is at the center of parenthood. I have yet to meet a parent who has not sometimes looked at his or her child and said, “Where did you come from?” So these more extreme stories of difference illuminate all parenting. And I think what I found is that our differences unite us—that the experience of negotiating difference is common to most of humanity. So I compared the experience of families all the time. And I felt that even for these very diffuse experiences, there was a uniting central set of experiences.

I have yet to meet a parent who has not sometimes looked at his or her child and said, “Where did you come from?” So these more extreme stories of difference illuminate all parenting.

Did you think before beginning your research that one type of child—one set of challenges—would be preferable to another, and did that perception change as you were writing the book?

I thought when I began that none of these were desirable characteristics, and I ended up thinking it was possible to find meaning in any of them. In some cases, my shift felt especially radical: I had thought of autism as a tragedy, and ended up thinking that it is often simply a part of human variation; I had thought of being transgender as a little grotesque, and now I have many transgender friends. I hadn’t really been exposed to the lives that went with these ways of being, and so the surprises were more radical than those I encountered among, for example, deaf people. Having said all that, I felt that schizophrenia offers more pain and fewer rewards than many other conditions. There are people who have schizophrenia and are nonetheless able to live incredibly productive, good lives—but I never met anyone who loved his schizophrenia and didn’t want to imagine a life without it. And I think crime is an identity against which we must always strive because its inherent nature is to damage the social fabric. In essence, however, I found that people value the experiences they have had over those they have not had. So, preferable? Many people preferred the challenge they had, because most people love their own children with all the challenges those children occasion.

You get into such personal territory in your interviews with these families. Were there ever questions you felt you couldn’t ask, or topics you felt you couldn’t discuss?

I’m a fairly bold interviewer, so there’s not much I felt I couldn’t ask. But there were questions that were hard. I asked some people whether they would have chosen an abortion if they had known ahead of time what characteristic their child would manifest. I asked some parents who seemed to love their child whether they also accepted that child for who he or she was. I asked a few parents whether they regretted becoming parents. And I asked some people who treated their condition as an identity whether they didn’t also see it as an illness.

You became a parent yourself during the course of writing this book. How do you think writing the book has influenced your own parenting style or your relationship with your children?

I hope that the book has made me more accepting, more willing to see my children for who they are. I know it has made me question the dynamic between what I can and should change in my children (teach them values, manners, skills) and what I should accept (see their identities and celebrate them). The work on the book made me more confident that I could love any child I had, and I love the ones I’ve got. I think I love them more wisely for having heard so many compelling stories from so many other families.

What were you most surprised by in writing this book?

I was surprised at how social progress and medical progress are often on a collision course. Social progress demonstrates that stigmatized characteristics can be worthy of celebration; medical progress eliminates those same qualities. They’re in a kind of strange race with each other. I believe in both the social and the medical progress, but I wish they were more awake to each other.

You’ve said that your next book will be about maternal love. Can you talk a little more about your concept for the book and what drew you to that topic?

It’s about how we are redefining motherhood and fatherhood in an era when women work and men are involved in childcare, and how that conversation relates to the advent of single mothers by choice, gay families, international adoption, older parents and so on.

We talked to the author about the families he spoke with, the writing process and how his research on parenting has influenced his relationship with his own children.

Pat Conroy

by Jay MacDonald

Nonfiction, Photography

Nonfiction Photography

Mark Nixon

Interview by Lynn Green

by Lynn Green

When Irish photographer Mark Nixon created portraits of cherished stuffed animals—“the more loved, unwashed, and falling apart the better”—and posted photos from the exhibit on his website, he was unprepared for the reaction.

People around the world were transfixed by Nixon’s tender, haunting—and sometimes downright creepy—photos of bears and bunnies with shredded ears, missing limbs and piercing plastic eyes. For each viewer, it seems, the portraits brought back childhood memories of their own beloved animals, “repositories of hugs, of fears, of hopes, of tears.”

As interest in Nixon’s exhibit skyrocketed, Abrams Books came calling with a publishing deal. Much Loved, released this fall, collects 60 full-page photos of well-worn stuffed animals, along with the story behind each one. We contacted Nixon at his Dublin studio to find out more about this unusual project.

What inspired you to begin photographing these stuffed animals?

It started nearly three years ago while watching my son Calum with his Peter Rabbit. I was struck by how close he was to it, how he squeezed and smelled it and couldn’t sleep without it. So I thought I’d make a portrait of Peter for him.

Were you surprised by the reaction when you posted the photos on your website?

I couldn’t believe how it spread all over the world so quickly. I had a great time checking every few days what new countries and sites were featuring it. China, Iceland, Peru, France, Israel, Argentina, Holland, England, it went on and on. Some asked permission, but most just took them from other sites. I didn’t mind. With this project, I decided to send it out there and see what happened. There were 6.5 million hits on my site in a few months.

Why do you think these pictures strike such a chord?

I have met so many adults who still love their teddies, still sleep with them, take them on trips and those who are still very angry with a parent who threw theirs away. I think for a lot of people, it’s a very strong emotional bond that is established at a formative stage of development.

How did you find stuffed animals to photograph?

After photographing Calum’s, I thought it might make a good exhibition for my studio, so I had a day where people could bring their teddy to be photographed for possible inclusion in the exhibition. Then a radio show interviewed me about it, and I was sent more. Then when the exhibition opened and it went online, I was inundated with requests from around the world to photograph people’s teddies. The main problem was when they realized they would actually have to send their precious bear to me, a lot of them wouldn’t, but some did, and some of those are in the book.

Some of the animals look quite fragile. Did you have difficulty posing any of them to get your shot?

There were a few that I had to be very careful with. Open Ear on page 38, whose skin or coat, whatever you want to call it, was hanging by a thread. Rabby on page 118, who had no shape at all, it was just like a long string of wool, but I managed to arrange it into some kind of shape. There were a few others with bits of stuffing falling onto my floor, that I either put back in or handed it to their owners, who were well used to it.

Did any of the stuffed animals creep you out, even a little?

Only one and probably not one you would think. It was nighttime and everyone had gone home and all of a sudden when I looked at this quite large teddy, I got a little scared. I won’t say which one out of respect for the owner, but I don’t think you would pick that one. I am amused by the ones that other people are creeped out by—I think it says more about them than these adorable creatures.

Tell us about the oldest stuffed animal in the book.

It belongs to Melissa, the lady who runs the Dolls Hospital and Teddy Bear Clinic in Dublin. She acquired it from a woman who was worried that her two sons would fight over it when she died, so Melissa gave her two very nice Steiff bears in exchange. Edward is 104, probably 105 now. It’s funny—Melissa showed me lots of photos of bears she had repaired, and I had to be honest and tell her I thought she’d ruined them by making them new again. I notice she hasn’t fixed Edward’s nose!

Is Gerry the Giraffe really only 10 years old?

Yes, Gerry was one of the first batch I photographed on my Teddy Day. Little Sophie had him tucked inside her coat and was very reluctant to give him to me while she waited for me to photograph him. I had to arrange him in a way to show his face, and when I gave him back to her, she said to her Daddy he didn’t look the same—oops! But she forgave me, and they both came to the exhibition opening, Gerry tucked inside her coat. This is one of the ones that freaks people out, but he’s got such a lovely little face with a smile and long lashes.

What’s been your favorite part of the whole project?

Every step of the journey has been so enjoyable. Just as I think, that’s it, it’s over, done, something new and unexpected happens, like Abrams emailing to ask if they can make a book of it.

People around the world were transfixed by Nixon’s tender, haunting—and sometimes downright creepy—photos…

Chris Hadfield

by Joelle Herr

Nonfiction, Sports

Nonfiction Sports

Tom Ambrose

Interview by Alden Mudge

by Alden Mudge

Tom Ambrose considers himself “a newcomer to cycling.” True, as a youngster in Ireland in the 1950s and 1960s, he owned and rode a number of bicycles. And now, as a grandfather, he pedals around the countryside near his home in rural Suffolk on a Dawes, which he calls “a sporting amateur’s bike.” But until recently, Ambrose had never written a word about cycling.

That changed with the publication of his well-designed, richly illustrated and informative new book, The History of Cycling in Fifty Bikes. It’s a volume that racers, hipsters on fixies, families with cargo bikes and occasional cyclists in their seemingly endless contemporary varieties will want to add to their collection.

In brisk, short chapters, Ambrose covers the technological advances of the bicycle, from the first foot-powered bikes like the so-called Hobby Horse through the development of gears and derailleurs, carbon fiber, bike lights and such advances as John B. Dunlop’s inflatable tire and James Starley’s wire spoke, innovations that were necessary to the later development of automobiles and aircraft. He relates captivating anecdotes from bike racing’s early days to the present, including cheating scandals from the earliest Tour de France competitions. And he introduces readers to the wide array of inventive, competitive and sometimes cantankerous personalities who have shaped and been shaped by bicycles.

But Ambrose’s chief interest, one that mostly murmurs quietly just beneath the surface of his narrative, is what he calls the “social aspects” of bicycling, its social history. The topic of the bicycle’s relationship to women’s emancipation, for example, is one that percolates through several chapters in the book.

“The bicycle became a viable means of transport at the time when—in the 19th century— you’ve got a developing women’s consciousness about equality and women’s rights,” Ambrose explains. “A woman never had anything of her own in terms of wealth, and she depended on men for everything, including transport. As women got ideas that they wanted more social liberty, this became irksome. So the coming of the bicycle gave them this great freedom. In a sense you could say that the lady’s bicycle is probably the emblem of female emancipation.”

Likewise, Ambrose observes the impact of the bicycle on the ebb and flow of working-class life. “The bicycle really did offer reasonably low-cost commuting. Of course that enables your workforce to come in from farther afield. You have all these factories of the Industrial Revolution sucking people into the cities, and the bicycle was very useful for that. Later, as prosperity spread, you have the interesting thing of people being borne into the city for work purposes then using the bicycle as a means of escape.”

Ambrose adds, with a sort of virtual wink, “And the bicycle was probably a good sexual vehicle as well. Cycling clubs sprang up and encouraged young men and women to go off bird watching in the countryside and things like that, but the real purpose, of course, was to get to know one another.”

“The invention of the bicycle was the greatest contribution to human health because it enlarged the gene pool,” the author says. “Young men from villages in France or Britain or the USA could then court girls from more distant villages. They would ride two or three miles instead of being confined to a breeding pattern within their own community.”

Ambrose’s text on the history of biking is accompanied by extensive photos and other depictions of bikes. These include photographs or period illustrations of each bicycle, as well as many of the inventors and bike racers.

There are also close-up views of technological innovations like the Lucas bike lamp, an early oil lamp that made nighttime cycling safer and more convenient. And there are completely unexpected images, such as one showing overloaded, camouflaged bicycles used by the North Vietnamese army to transport supplies without detection during the Vietnam war. “That was a major demonstration of using a Third World technology to defeat a First World power,” Ambrose says, returning to his interest in the bicycle’s impact on history.

Ambrose, who became a full-time writer after a career in filmmaking and advertising, thinks we are now witnessing “a third kind of revolution or effect of the bicycle as it has become an urban vehicle. Yes, it’s still a major sporting vehicle. But bicycling allows you to smartly maneuver in crowded and congested cities. So it’s the city dweller who has taken over the bicycle in many ways.”

To which this citified cyclist says: Ride on!

Andrew & Stephen Schlesinger

by bookpagedev

Arthur Schlesinger Jr. played a unique role in American life. The author of many acclaimed works of American history and biography (his accolades included two Pulitzer Prizes, two National Book Awards, the Francis Parkman Prize and the Frederic Bancroft Prize), he also enthusiastically embraced the role of friend and confidant to significant movers and shakers on the national political scene. He was a speechwriter and adviser to presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson, and is probably best known for his position as a special assistant to President John F. Kennedy.

Memoir, Nonfiction

Nonfiction Memoir

Scott Stossel

Interview by Alison Hood

by Alison Hood

Though he’s a highly regarded journalist, Scott Stossel has long endured an affliction that was hidden from many of his closest associates: near-crippling anxiety. In My Age of Anxiety, a narrative that’s both deeply personal and wide-ranging, he examines the history and treatment of this common disorder.

It took much courage for you to write this personal account of your inner life: What do you hope your book will accomplish?

I hope this book will provide readers with a deeper understanding of the condition, and of both the scientific and cultural contexts in which it exists. Especially for people struggling with anxiety, I hope the book can provide a modicum of solace—the recognition that they are not alone. I also hope people find it entertaining and possibly somewhat hopeful, despite my trawling through some dark places.

By all outside appearances, you’re the capable and confident editor of The Atlantic. Do you think many of your colleagues will be surprised to read about your struggles with anxiety?

Some of them already definitely have been. (As advance copies of the book circulate around the office, I’ve had a parade of colleagues in my office telling me they’d like to give me a hug. Which is nice and also a little uncomfortable.) And I suspect I will continue to be greeted with surprised reactions from professional acquaintances.

The book’s section on drugs is sure to be controversial. What are your thoughts about Big Pharma’s response?

I don’t yet have any sense of how Big Pharma will respond. But I’m definitely not anti-drug. (How could I be when I take medications myself!) In fact, I’d say I’m guardedly pro-pharma—drugs are the best or only solution for many people. I just think we need to be cognizant of the medical risks and societal risks. We should view drugs with both skepticism and hope.

You make many references to the caring and support of your spouse, Susanna. How are you able to maintain relationships with family and friends given your admittedly narcissistic focus on yourself and your condition?

In some ways, my inward focus on my anxiety makes me a worse husband/father/son/friend than I otherwise would be. Susanna has sometimes had to carry an unfairly heavy load. But I would like to think my anxiety has also enlarged my capacity for empathy and made me more conscientious and effective in some areas of my life (even as it has clearly made me less effective in others).

How would you describe the fiscal impact of anxiety—on families, workers and businesses, as well as the healthcare system?

By some measures the impact is huge. Missed days of work due to anxiety disorders (and depression) cost the U.S. economy upward of $50 billion annually. And anxiety is a leading cause of visits to doctors’ offices (which may actually help the economy, but is still not a good thing). Clinical anxiety can place a large fiscal burden on families—it can contribute to unemployment, alcoholism and drug addiction, as well as general distress.

You state that your lifelong struggle with anxiety might be a “source of strength” and a “bestower of certain blessings.” Can you explain how so?

Anxiety, when it’s not debilitating, can bring with it certain gifts: a heightened awareness of your environment; more sensitive social antennae; a general prudence about risk-taking; a spur toward achievement. The philosopher Søren Kierkegaard believed that the greater the anxiety, the greater the opportunity for growth. I think there’s definitely something to that—though when my anxiety is at its worst I’d trade away the opportunity for growth in exchange for the anxiety dissipating.

Gary Shteyngart

by Alden Mudge

After writing three critically acclaimed novels, Gary Steyngart turned to memoir. Little Failure, published this month, is an unsparing, often funny, account of Steyngart’s anxiety-ridden life from his early childhood in Russia, through his family’s immigration to Queens, New York, and ending with the publication of his first novel. Our reading of the memoir raised some additional questions, which Shteyngart answered via email.

Memoir, Nonfiction

Nonfiction Memoir

Patience Bloom

Interview by Joelle Herr

by Joelle Herr

As a veteran editor of Harlequin romance novels, Patience Bloom has had the enviable job of facilitating fairy-tale love stories between heroric hunks and whip-smart heroines for 16 years. When it came to her own affairs of the heart, though, Bloom's dating life was far from picture-perfect. In her 40s and after many short-term relationships that ended in disappointment, she nearly gave up on love—until reconnecting with a high school acquaintance offered a shot at her very own happily-ever-after. Romance Is My Day Job is Bloom's charming, utterly relatable account of navigating the ups and downs of dating and finding love when and where you least expect it. We asked Bloom a few questions about the book.

How did the idea for the book come about?
I started writing Romance Is My Day Job as a stress-reliever six weeks before my wedding. Two years went by, and an agent—who became my agent—convinced me to polish the book and try to sell it. Why not? Sam and I have an extraordinary story. A reclusive 40-something romance editor unexpectedly reunites with the wild class clown of her high school years. That’s a pretty good romance.

What was the first romance novel that you ever read? How old were you and what did you think of it?
My first official romance novel was Phantom Marriage by Penny Jordan, followed immediately by Desire’s Captive. I didn’t realize there were books like this—just for me! I was 14 and reading romances when I should have been studying for exams. I remember Desire’s Captive more because the hero’s name was Nico, and after being such a grumpus through the entire book, he finally admits his love to the heroine. I gasped and then melted.

How did you become a romance book editor? Was it something you always wanted to do?
I liked to read romance novels, but I read a lot of other books, too: nonfiction, thrillers, literary fiction and commercial women’s fiction. Publishing was my calling, and by some happy accident, my first job was at Harlequin. So I turned my guilty-pleasure reading into a full-time job.

What was the weirdest reaction a guy ever had when you first told him about your job?
The weirdest reaction came on a fourth date with a guy, who’d just told me he’d gotten back with his ex. I didn’t know why he wanted to keep seeing me until he handed me his unpublished book. He knew all along that I was an editor, and this was the only reason why he wanted to date me. Most guys were enlightened, asked a lot of questions and thought it sounded like a fun job.

Is there a romance hero archetype that you didn’t encounter in real life? Which archetype do you feel would be the worst kind of guy to date in real life, why?
I never dated the law enforcement guy, though I appreciated their rescuing my cats during an apartment fire, giving me directions, and reassuring me during some crises in the city. Dating a NYC cop would have been too scary for me since I worry too much, but I’d have made an exception for Elliott Stabler [from the TV show “Law & Order: SVU”]. In my experience, the worst guy to date is the alpha male. He’s just a jerk. Alphas are loveable in romance novels because you know that some goodness lies behind the intensity. In real life, the alphas I’ve encountered have been sadistic as boyfriends, but fun as just friends (as long as we do what he wants to do).

What’s your favorite genre of romance?
I like moody historical romances, romantic suspense and sexy, glitzy romances (I’m not sure that’s a genre). A nice, cozy small-town romance can also be deeply satisfying. Paranormal or Western-themed romances are not as much of a draw for me, but I have read some great ones.

How did your “uninspired” dating life affect how you felt about your job?
No matter how awful my date was, the romances I read the next day were mood-boosters. If love couldn’t happen to me, these heroines felt like my sisters, also in search of someone. I rooted for the characters to find love instead. It didn’t depress me to come to work after a lame night with Mr. Not Right at All.

Why do you think romance novels are so popular with readers?
These are happy stories about love. They leave the reader with hope of some kind, not necessarily that Mr. Perfect will land in their laps, but that love exists. Romance novels are fun decadence, fantasy and dream-food for romantics.

What was it about your husband that signaled to you that he was “the one”?
I knew he was “the one” when we first spoke on the phone—within a week of our connecting on Facebook. He has this reassuring voice, and I wanted to keep listening to him. Something clicked. This felt different, so we just kept talking on the phone. Because I had two feet on the ground, I also understood that he might not recognize me as “the one” for him. I was ready for anything—even nothing.

What’s next for you?
Promoting this book is next. While I do that, I’ve started writing Cassie McBride’s Dating Adventures: How to Love Like a Romance Heroine, with a little more dating memoir thrown in. I also am generating more romance writing tips on my blog (www.romanceismydayjob.com). If that weren’t enough, I’m writing a steamy office romance (might as well).

(Author photo by Patrick Smith)

Carol Wall

by Kelly Blewett

When Carol Wall hired a neighbor’s gardener to improve her long-neglected yard, she never imagined that the Kenyan immigrant would transform her outlook on life as well. In Mister Owita’s Guide to Gardening, Wall reflects on what she learned from their special friendship.

Memoir, Nonfiction, Self-Help

Nonfiction Self-Help Memoir

Madhulika Sikka

Interview by Hilli Levin

by Hilli Levin

Madhulika Sikka, executive editor of NPR News, was working with her team on an interview with President Obama when she received her breast cancer diagnosis in 2010. Today, Sikka is cancer-free, and her new book, A Breast Cancer Alphabet, is here "for anyone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer and needs a companion."

The slim, beautifully designed volume is divided into 26 short sections and is aimed at helping both those dealing with a personal diagnosis, or the diagnosis of a loved one, make sense of their journey through "Cancerland."

From "A" is for Anxiety (over test results, treatments and everything in between), to "F" is for Fashion Accessories (scarves, hats and bold earrings can make you feel a whole lot better) and "W" is for Warrior (it's OK to be a woman with a disease instead of a warrior), Sikka's approach is unabashedly honest and wholly supportive.

We asked Sikka to tell us more about the little things—and the big things—that can make a difference for cancer patients.

What inspired you to write this book?
I actually started writing for myself, to vent and to sort out my thoughts and reactions to going through breast cancer treatment. As I talked to friends about it,they thought that there was something worth sharing and encouraged me to write more. My feelings about the disease and treatment were complex.

During your initial search for answers and information about breast cancer, were there any topics that seemed particularly taboo?
Not taboo necessarily, more like glossed over. For example, in my book I use the word amputation to describe the removal of my breast. We all seem comfortable with using the medical term mastectomy but if you use the word amputation people are shocked. Yet to me, that is exactly what it felt like. It’s funny that in this case the medical term is the less challenging one for folks to deal with.

You recently spoke out against the “cause marketing” that has become popular, especially during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, or “Pinktober” as some now call it. Can you tell us more about your thoughts on this issue?
I think that the breast cancer awareness movement was one of the most significant acts in women’s health advocacy in decades and I thank goodness for it. However, I believe we have reached saturation awareness. EVERYONE is aware of breast cancer. For me the question now is what are we doing to find a cure and while we don’t have a cure, how do we help people who are going through it? The commercialization of the awareness campaign has become off-putting. As someone who has gone through breast cancer I find it hard to make a direct connection between the disease I am going through and the entire NFL being clad in pink. If you want to use the language of the awareness movement, the battle to raise awareness has been won, now it’s time to amp up the battle to find a cure.

In the book, you point out that, unlike many other diagnoses, women with breast cancer are “expected to be upbeat,” during their treatment. Why do you think this is so?
I think it goes back to the socialization of the breast cancer awareness movement, and one of its tropes is that women can “fight” this disease and “kick it” almost as if it is a were a life passage one must pass through. I find this attitude troubling because it implies that if you do not survive that somehow you didn’t fight hard enough as if it were your fault. The writer Peggy Orenstein has described “Our Feel Good War on Breast Cancer.” and I think that is a perfect description of what it has become.

You note that little things, like pillows, can make a big impact during the toughest days of treatment and recovery. What other small comforts do you recommend?
Yes, pillows were really important for me in helping me achieve some comfort during my treatment. There were other things that worked for me and it will be different for others. A friend, and fellow breast cancer patient, gave me a beautiful soft shawl to take with me to my chemotherapy treatments: I could keep myself warm and feel loved and protected by using it. We were also due a new mattress, so we went and bought one that got a tremendous amount of use while I was going through chemotherapy treatment.

Aside from reading this book, what advice do you have for people who want to be supportive of relatives or friends going through breast cancer treatment?
I think the most important thing to do is to ask the patient what they need help with, and then I think it is important for the patient to articulate what they need and to not be ashamed to ask for help. The greatest thing my friends did for me was to arrange food delivery. For close to five months, my family was fed by a rather large cast of folks who brought over nourishing meals on a regular schedule that they organized on a calendar. For my husband and two daughters this was one of the most important things that happened for us and probably the most helpful.

In your opinion, what’s the biggest myth about breast cancer treatment—and the most surprising truth?
The biggest myth about breast cancer treatment to me is that it is a fluffy pink “journey.” My breast was removed and my body was pumped with poison to chase away errant cells—that’s a pretty terrible thing to go through. I’m a pretty skeptical person, so I don’t think I had bought in to any truths beforehand so I think I’ll pass on the second part of this question!

Tell us about some of the unused contenders for certain letters that you wish you could have included. Was it difficult to limit yourself to 26 topics?
You know, it was actually hard to come up with all 26. When I first had the idea of an alphabet I wrote some sample essays and they made perfect sense. It was when I was faced with the prospect of going through the whole alphabet I realized how hard that was going to be. A few of my rejects were I is for Implant, A is for Angel and L is for Luck, not because I didn’t have things to say, but I found I was able to incorporate these ideas in other essays and find different things to focus on for these letters.

Were there any letters that you had difficulty coming up with a topic for?
The letters I, U and X for example were hard to come up with. And I will admit that what I did come up with were rather unorthodox responses, but I think I have managed to convey something useful in my final choices for these letters. The same with Z, which is almost as impossible to come up with as X!

This is your first book—was it difficult or easy for you to transition from journalist to author? Do you have any other books planned?
I had never thought that I had a book in me, more like a two page memo. If I had told myself I was going to sit down and write a book, I might not have done it. With the structure of the alphabet what I find I have written is 26 memos that turned into a book! I want to get this book published and in the hands of people I think could really benefit from it. I’ll see how this experience goes before I start thinking about anything else.

Author photo by Kainaz Amara
Illustrations by Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich

Madhulika Sikka's new book, A Breast Cancer Alphabet, is here "for anyone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer and needs a companion."

Trending Nonfiction

Nonfiction Politics Memoir

How to Stand Up to a Dictator

Maria Ressa

By Sarojini Seupersad

Maria Ressa’s book is a political history of the Philippines and an intimate memoir, but it’s also a warning to democracies everywhere: Authoritarianism is a threat to us all.