Cancer, My BFF :) ! offers a refreshing insight into the realities of surviving and accepting any of the major and debilitating nuisances presented during our lives. "Gotta breathe! May as well enjoy it!" as Dennis says. His story will remind us that the only way he was able to tackle the day-to-day was by seeing the process as productive, and the end game as a grand success. This can work flawlessly, but it does require a new definition of success to claim such a victory.

A series of whimsical essays by the New York Times "Social Q's" columnist provides modern advice on navigating today's murky moral waters, sharing recommendations for such everyday situations as texting on the bus to splitting a dinner check.

Have you ever struggled to find the right words to say to a friend who has just been diagnosed with cancer? Do you wonder which acts of kindness she would appreciate the most as she endures chemotherapy or a mastectomy? Loving Your Friend Through Cancer provides an in-depth look at what it feels like to have cancer and how friends can help. Marissa Henley's experience as a cancer survivor and her detailed advice will equip you to love and serve your friend through her illness. In this book, you'll learn: - Why you should never say, "Let me know how I can help." - Practical suggestions for supporting your friend immediately after diagnosis, throughout treatment, and beyond. - How to move beyond "I'm sorry" and provide the encouragement she needs. - Specific ways to pray for her and minister to her spiritually. Whether you're a close friend providing daily support or an acquaintance who wants to avoid saying the wrong thing, this book will help you support your friend with confidence and compassion.

"....a very sweet dog story" -- Outside The story of a dog, his human, and the friendship that saved both of their lives. When Ben Moon moved from the Midwest to Oregon, he hadn’t planned on getting a dog. But when he first met the soulful gaze of a rescue pup in a shelter, Ben instantly felt a connection, and his friendship with Denali was born. The two of them set out on the road together, on an adventure that would take them across the American west and through some of the best years of their lives. But when Ben was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at age 29, he faced a difficult battle with the disease, and Denali never once left his side until they were back out surfing and climbing crags. It was only a short time later that Denali was struck by the same disease, and Ben had the chance to return the favor. Denali is the story of this powerful friendship that shaped Ben and Denali’s lives, showing the strength and love that we give and receive when we have our friends by our side.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Unforgettable . . . Truth rings forth clearly from every page. . . . One minute you’re laughing, the next you’re crying. . . . You’ll want to give a copy to every good woman friend you have.”—The Charlotte Observer What do you say when you know you don’t have forever? Ruth has been Ann’s closest friend for years—her confidante, her solace, her comic relief, her tutor in life’s mysterious ways. So when Ruth becomes ill, Ann is there for her without question. After all, it is Ruth who encouraged Ann to become who she is, Ruth whose rebellious, eccentric spirit provided the perfect counterpoint to Ann’s conventional, safe outlook. And so the friends go on as they always have . . . gossiping, consoling, and sharing intimate secrets—but with the knowledge that each shared evening could be their last. Acclaimed author Elizabeth Berg has created a searing novel about the strength and salvation of women’s friendships. Deeply moving and surprisingly funny, Talk Before Sleep is an intimate, uncensored portrait of love and loss, struggle and resilience. “Tender and irreverent by turns, [Talk Before Sleep] offers mature, intelligent and buoyant spirit, like a very good friend.”—Houston Post “Entertaining, finely crafted . . . Berg tackles serious issues with grace.”—San Francisco Chronicle

Reverent and profane, entertaining and bruising, Four Reincarnations is a debut collection of poems that introduces an exciting new voice in American letters. When Max Ritvo was diagnosed with cancer at age sixteen, he became the chief war correspondent for his body. The poems of Four Reincarnations are dispatches from chemotherapy beds and hospitals and the loneliest spaces in the home. They are relentlessly embodied, communicating pain, violence, and loss. And yet they are also erotically, electrically attuned to possibility and desire, to “everything living / that won’t come with me / into this sunny afternoon.” Ritvo explores the prospect of death with singular sensitivity, but he is also a poet of life and of love—a cool-eyed assessor of mortality and a fervent champion for his body and its pleasures. Ritvo writes to his wife, ex­-lovers, therapists, fathers, and one mother. He finds something to love and something to lose in everything: Listerine PocketPak breath strips, Indian mythology, wool hats. But in these poems—from the humans that animate him to the inanimate hospital machines that remind him of death—it’s Ritvo’s vulnerable, aching pitch of intimacy that establishes him as one of our finest young poets.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER They met over their dogs. Gail Caldwell and Caroline Knapp (author of Drinking: A Love Story) became best friends, talking about everything from their love of books and their shared history of a struggle with alcohol to their relationships with men. Walking the woods of New England and rowing on the Charles River, these two private, self-reliant women created an attachment more profound than either of them could ever have foreseen. Then, several years into this remarkable connection, Knapp was diagnosed with cancer. With her signature exquisite prose, Caldwell mines the deepest levels of devotion, and courage in this gorgeous memoir about treasuring a best friend, and coming of age in midlife. Let’s Take the Long Way Home is a celebration of the profound transformations that come from intimate connection—and it affirms, once again, why Gail Caldwell is recognized as one of our bravest and most honest literary voices.