Saturday 15 October 2011

Look, a Book

Bang a gong! Play that funky music white boy! Get down with the trumpets! Hit me with your rhythm stick!

Why the big hullabaloo? Jessica Jones' eagerly awaited book The Elegant Art of Falling Apart is published this week by Hachette Australia.


The book tells the touching tale of a woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer and how she got through it by writing a mad blog about cancer fashion and beauty tips; with a lot of help from her wonderfully eccentric friends and with the love of her handsome Aussie boyfriend. Only... uh-oh, it turns out that he didn't love her after all and just as soon as she finished the chemo and radiotherapy, he dumped her...

Hang on a minute. Clearly this impostor has gone and rocked up at a publishing house with a story she's lifted directly from Chemo Chic. Can you credit the bare-faced impertinence of the woman!

Plagiarism aside, it looks like a pretty good read. Celebrated Australian actress Susie Porter says this:

'Jess has the amazing ability to make you feel that you are with her, every step of the way. I laughed out loud, I cried and I couldn't put The Elegant Art of Falling Apart down, couldn't stop reading until I'd completed this extraordinary journey with her.'

For those of you with Attention Deficit Disorder, here are some one-line reviews from Twitter:

'Never read such a heartrendingly funny brave book. Title sums it up perfectly.'

'An amazing inspirational woman's experience with cancer and a wanker.'

Please feel free to add your own one-line review on The Elegant Art of Falling Apart facebook page.



3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was reading the Sunday Herald Sun a couple of weeks ago and came across the article about your book. I started laughing out loud when I read the title of "How much can one woman take?". I was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple of months ago and my "Mr Right" left me 3 weeks after being diagnosed. I thought I was the only one this had happened to. A dear friend of mine gave me your book and I read in a couple of days - THANK YOU, for your honesty and education of what I'm going through and about to go through.

Anonymous said...

I came across a review for this book in a magazine in New Zealand (I live in Christchurch - yes where we've had the year of earthquakes & devastation) - anyway, I went on the waitlist at my library and have just now finished this book. I could not put it down. Hands down, one of the best books I have ever read. Awesome

canalily said...

Dear Anonymous 1 and Anonymous 2,

Thank you both so very much for reading my book and taking the time to comment about it. I really appreciate your feedback.

My hope is that The Elegant Art of Falling Apart is a book for everyone who has been through life trauma - whether that is an earthquake, cancer or a relationship breakdown.

Anonymous 1, I'm so sorry to hear that you also were abandoned with cancer by some a weak, self-interested narcissist. There seem to be plenty of them about. I would like to invite you to write something for the new Chemo Chic. Please see my recent posting for details. It wouldn't have to be the story of your relationship breakup, if you're not comfortable with that - any aspect of your cancer journey is worth sharing. Your stories can make a big difference to others. Please get in touch if you'd like to submit something.

Anonymous 2, I'm so heartened to hear that, despite earthquakes and devastation, some people still go to the library!