In a moment meant to reassure, a doctor’s flippant phrase—"You might as well"—landed like a slap. This chapter wrestles with what it means to reclaim agency, carve meaning from prognosis, and live not in spite of dying, but because you're still here.
“You might as well”: tell your story, work for justice, advocate for more research, be with/for others who suffer due to GBM, speak to the medical community, facilitate important book studies, oh and fix meals, walk your boys to the bus, do housework, love your family and that’s just what I can come up with immediately! You are one busy “dude!” ❤️ …just saying!
IMHO, this is the best kind of stuff you write. It does bridging work between personal narrative and philosophy - grounded in memoir but lifting up those experiences to make a broader point about what the experience means, should mean, must mean. That is how it offers others a glimpse of what they need to understand (and probably don't, already). Yes, a little agency is sometimes all we want in this process of slow dying.
“You might as well”: tell your story, work for justice, advocate for more research, be with/for others who suffer due to GBM, speak to the medical community, facilitate important book studies, oh and fix meals, walk your boys to the bus, do housework, love your family and that’s just what I can come up with immediately! You are one busy “dude!” ❤️ …just saying!
IMHO, this is the best kind of stuff you write. It does bridging work between personal narrative and philosophy - grounded in memoir but lifting up those experiences to make a broader point about what the experience means, should mean, must mean. That is how it offers others a glimpse of what they need to understand (and probably don't, already). Yes, a little agency is sometimes all we want in this process of slow dying.
What a generous and kind comment! Thank you so much! You’re naming exactly what I strive to do!