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What A Blip: A Breast Cancer Journal of Survival and Finding the Wisdom Kindle Edition

by Alicia Garey (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 19 ratings
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It isn't what happens to you, it's what you do when it happens. Through the trauma of breast cancer Alicia Garey came out of the writing closet to share her experience and how she restored her balance. Facing the challenges of motherhood, running an interior design business while also being a wife, daughter, sister and friend, Alicia celebrates the gift of life through a new lens, and finds the joy by seeing the light in her darkest hours. Alicia dedicates her story to all of us who have or will face a terrifying life challenge. As far as she can tell, the challenges do indeed come our way, and we learn from them.
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  1. Print length
    159 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Soul Rocks Books
  5. Publication date
    December 12, 2014
  6. File size
    2415 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Alicia Garey's "What a Blip" takes you on an honest and at times uncomfortable journey of the challenges one faces with cancer, while giving an in depth, soulful look at not only this disease but the inner fears that arise and the fortitude it takes to stay focused on the result and accept nothing less.... "What a Blip" is heart wrenching, endearing, and gives any woman who is facing or diagnosed with cancer extraordinary hope."

- Amy Gibson, Founder and Client CreatedHair.com, Leading Hair Loss Consultant and Wig Designer in the U.S., Alopecia Activist, Talk Show Host, Producer, Author

"Alicia Garey's brutally honest look at her battle with breast cancer is equal parts warm and chilling, gritty and poetic, gut-wrenching and funny. From her darkest days to her emergence on the other side, this beautifully powerful writer will sear herself onto your soul and leave you with love, gratitude and above all, hope."

- Monica Piper - comedian, writer, fellow survivor

"A genuinely wise and funny account of living through breast cancer and creating meaning on the other side. Alicia puts into words what so many women on the unexpected journey through cancer feel and never say; this book gives solace to all who wonder -- is it just me? A truly sensitive and inspired story, told with great warmth and generosity of spirit by a gifted writer."

-Kauser Ahmed, PhD clinical psychologist Simms/Mann--UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology

About the Author

Alicia Garey is an interior designer and blog contributor for the Huffington Post. She lives in Santa Monica, California with her husband and their two children.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00PYXFKGW
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Soul Rocks Books (December 12, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 12, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2415 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 159 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 19 ratings

About the author

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Alicia Garey

Alicia Garey

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Interior designer and author of What a Blip: A Breast Cancer Journal of Survival and Finding the Wisdom, Alicia Garey chronicled her breast cancer experience in 2012 on the Huffington Post (and wrote a few non-cancer articles too) prior to publishing her book. Alicia previously worked in the television literary department at a Los Angeles talent agency and in television production. She has published over 50 interior design articles for online content. Alicia's winning color combination is permanently featured in the Designer Palettes for California Paints. Her Signature Style 'Loft' sofa was made exclusively for the Sofa Company. She studied interior design at UCLA, and is an Allied Member of the American Society of Interior Designers.

Originally from New York, she lives in California with her husband and their two children. Connect with her via her interior design website www.AGDesigns.biz or her book website www.AliciaGarey.com.

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
19 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Ben Mattlin
5.0 out of 5 stars Told with deft sensitivity and emotional clarity, by turns grueling and uplifting but always refreshingly new and real
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2015
Verified Purchase
What's a guy like me doing reading a memoir about breast cancer? I'm interested in literature in general and memoirs in particular, and like all good memoirs, this is an unabashed look inside someone else's life experience, by turns grueling and uplifting. Told with deft sensitivity and emotional clarity, it's a journey inside the mind and soul of a wise, funny, compassionate young-to-middle-aged wife and mother. As the subtitle suggests, it largely consists of journal entries - and might have benefited from having more straightforward narrative sections interspersed here and there. But then again, the book is so readable and takes such a light touch to such a seemingly deep, dark subject that perhaps a more conventional narrative arc would have bogged it down. (It's so real and unaffected and defiantly funny that the last third of chapter titles in the Table of Contents is crossed out!)

What this book is not: a heartrending storybook account from "is that a lump?" to "Praise God, I'm healed!" - or anything nearly so predictable and clichéd. Neither is it bossy or prescriptive. What it is: refreshingly frank and personable. Though it is one person's very particular experience, it is sufficiently open-minded and life-affirming to have a universal appeal. After all, this could be anyone's story, but nobody I know of has told one like this before.
One person found this helpful
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H Hamann
5.0 out of 5 stars You don't have to have had cancer to gain from reading the heartfelt glorious thoughts through the authors written words.
Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2017
Verified Purchase
What A Blip is insightful, delightful and honest. The author not only takes you along each step of the way through discovering she has cancer but through her innermost thoughts, fears and hopes. From someone who has not had cancer or even known anyone personally who has, to begin this book, I had no expectations and by the end of the book felt so privileged and grateful to have allowed to walk alongside Alicia through this painful journey. I felt like her most intimate friend and loyal confidant. I feel better able to face this disease with someone or even myself because of having "been through it" with Alicia in this small way. The book will not let go of you until you get to the last word on the last page. I want more.
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elm1
5.0 out of 5 stars What a book
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2015
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One does not typically think of a book of this genre as a page-turner, but in this case it was. I sped through this book in two days, and I am not a fast reader. It was not because of suspense or excitement that I couldn't put it down (we know from the beginning that, fortunately, the "main character" survives). The author engages you from the start with her writing, her wit, her humor, her angst, and her candor. She gives us a poignant and intimate view of the external experience, and more importantly of her inner world, as she is thrust into, stumbles through, and navigates the world of cancer. This book can be a very useful tool for anyone with a friend or relative dealing with cancer, or for someone who has or has had cancer. I imagine most of us fall into one of those categories.
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suzanne ruthven
4.0 out of 5 stars You will survive this!
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2015
Having gone through the agonies of being diagnosed breast cancer myself some eight years ago, I was interested to see how Alicia Garey tackled the subject. Personally I found that it wasn’t the surgery or the aftermath that leaves you brain dead – it’s those long, awful days from diagnosis to surgery that are the worst. The paralysing fear, the sleepless nights, the inner feeling of desperate loneliness , helplessness ... and Alicia Garey has captured this brilliantly in her writing. As she says at the start: “This, this is different. This is treacherous. This is powerful. This is bend on your knees please God don’t do this to me surrender. This is a total life re-evaluation. This is being at the mercy of the medical profession. This is trusting the help of others. This is real.”

‘What A Blip’ covers every agonising step of the procedure but nowhere does the author come across as feeling sorry for herself. Yes, she is frightened; yes, she is terrified of losing her hair; yes, she is scared of what the final results will look like ... but she is determined to survive it all and come out the other side –and living until she’s 95! Throughout the whole terrifying process, Alicia Garey doesn’t lose her sense of the ridiculous, because even in the very depths of despair things like the silly antics of the dog can still make you smile. No one can understand what it’s like to go through the cancer scare without experiencing it first hand, but ‘What A Blip’ will be a valuable insight for those just diagnosed with the disease and family and friends supporting them. The message is loud and clear in every word of the narrative – you will survive this!
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Scott R.
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for anyone going through a breast cancer ...
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2018
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A must read for anyone going through a breast cancer diagnosis. This book gives a very candid look at what to expect during and after treatment.
Alicia takes you through her personal experience battling breast cancer and how she prepare's herself to endure the healing process.

Scott R.
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granny rose
5.0 out of 5 stars funny and very human memoir is a guide for all ...
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2015
Verified Purchase
Whether you are a breast cancer survivor (as I am) or not, this eloquent, funny and very human memoir is a guide for all of us on how to survive all the blips in our lives with style and grace. A charming and inspirational read.
One person found this helpful
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Westcoast Gaffer
5.0 out of 5 stars Moving. Dazzling. Inspiring.
Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2015
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Here's a highly readable, deeply honest, and profoundly insightful memoir of one woman's journey. It's a cogent, incisive, and beautifully written account of her journey of self examination and self discovery. I was moved and dazzled and inspired.
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