THE SILVER LINING
Part personal memoir, part professional guide, THE SILVER LINING
THE SILVER LINING’S candid focus on the most personal aspects of the cancer experience, written through the lens of a professional health care professional and documented in a visually beautiful way, makes it a rare and precious resource.
From how to talk to your children about cancer, to how to deal with intimacy issues with your partner, to cognitive impairment and intense feelings of isolation, THE SILVER LINING leaves no question unanswered.
Hollye’s hard-earned wisdom, hope, and encouragement combined with Elizabeth’s powerful and engaging imagery will sustain countless women facing breast cancer – the ultimate Silver Lining of her experience.
“What I do know for sure is that dumbfounding circumstances and even outrage can be redirected and channeled into action that yields positive outcomes,” she says in the book. Learning how not only to survive, but to heal helps create a post-cancer life that is even more meaningful and stronger than ever before.
Diagnosis
In July 2010, thirty-nine year old Hollye Jacobs and her husband moved from Chicago to Santa Barbara with their young daughter. Just as she was settling into the rhythm of her new home, inexplicable pain in her right breast led to a diagnosis of breast cancer: “invasive ductal carcinoma.” Despite Hollye’s years as an ICU nurse and then a hospice and palliative care nurse, what followed was an experience for which she had no guide or lifeline: a double mastectomy followed by chemotherapy, radiation, and hormone therapy.
Overwhelmed by the emotional demands of sharing the news of her diagnosis with friends and family, Hollye began a blog called The Silver Pen. This blog documented her experiences – from diagnosis through recovery and life after treatment – with such a wealth of information, its reach went far beyond her immediate circle of friends and it became the foundation for THE SILVER LINING.
Meanwhile, her dear friend Elizabeth Messina, an award-winning photographer, began chronicling Hollye’s journey. Originally created as a personal gift, these photographs became the images that lend THE SILVER LINING
Chapter by chapter, THE SILVER LINING is organized by treatment, divided by memoir and practical matters, and includes invaluable “Lifelines,” the little things that only a girlfriend would tell you.
“The Silver Lining reflects the experience of a remarkable woman, undergoing what is sadly an all too common journey. The challenges faced are honestly, yet compassionately shared, often with humor and always with grace. The lifelines and wisdom remind readers that at the end of this expedition there is growth and hope. The breathtaking photos reinforce the beauty that can come from pain. This book is an extraordinary gift for all who have been touched by breast cancer.”
— Judith A. Paice, PhD, RN, director, Cancer Pain Program Division, Hematology-Oncology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
