The Radiation Sonnets

by Yolen, Jane

• ISBN13: 9781565124028
• ISBN10: 1565124022
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-10-17
• Publisher: Algonquin Books

Summary

When one of America's best-loved, bestselling authors faces a life-altering crisis, she responds by creating a remarkable sequence of poems that offers hope and reassurance to others seeking comfort. Jane Yolen has spent her life giving enjoyment to millions of readers with her award-winning books and poems. But when her husband was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor in his skull, she began to write to find solace. For the forty-three days that David underwent radiation treatment, Jane spent each night pouring her emotions into a sonnet. It was the only part of the day over which she felt she had any control. When Jane read some of those poems on NPR's All Things Considered, there was an immediate outpouring of support and a clamoring for her work from cancer patients, those who treat and care for them, and those listeners simply moved by her words. The Radiation Sonnets is for them. The poems reflect not only what happened on a particular day--the naps and nausea, visits from family and friends, Jane's struggle to get food into her weakened husband--but also tell a larger story: of her deep love for her husband, her ambivalence about medical technology, her joy in small victories, her acknowledgment of life's utter precariousness, her humor in the face of fear, and her refusal to give up hope. For caregivers and survivors alike, for anyone whose life has been touched by illness, The Radiation Sonnets is a triumphant celebration of the human spirit.

Author Biography

Jane Yolen is the author of contemporary children's classics. Her bestselling books, have received many awards, including the Christopher Award, the Regina Medal, and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Award. She has been nominated for a National Book Award and has received three honorary doctorates for her body of work. She and her husband, David Stemple, live in Massachusetts and Scotland

Table of Contents

The Beginning	p. ix
A Promise to Eurydice	p. 1
Second Day	p. 3
Filled with Rays	p. 5
Damn All Machines	p. 7
Hanged Man	p. 9
A Daughter's Visit	p. 11
Organization	p. 13
Sucking Candies	p. 15
Mapping the Skull	p. 17
A Little Sleep	p. 19
Confusion	p. 21
Food Wars: First Shot	p. 23
Going for a Ride	p. 25
Collateral Damage	p. 27
Work Week	p. 29
Talisman	p. 31
Food Wars: Second Front	p. 33
Letting Go	p. 35
Temple	p. 37
Ride	p. 39
Holidays	p. 41
Penultimate	p. 43
Expectations	p. 45
Hair Apparent	p. 47
Waiting Room	p. 49
Ask the Doctor	p. 51
An Additional Week of Radiation	p. 53
A Bad Day	p. 55
Food Wars: Third Front	p. 57
Changing the Angle	p. 59
Daffodil Day	p. 61
Journaling	p. 63
One More Week	p. 65
Escape	p. 67
Bird-Watching	p. 69
April Fools	p. 71
Food Wars: Fourth Front	p. 73
Words	p. 75
Food Wars: Fifth Front	p. 77
Hawks	p. 79
Visitors	p. 81
Away	p. 83
Graduation Day	p. 85
And After...	p. 87
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