Making progress Book

Weingarten's book was an honest and moving account of her experience with cancer. The amount of uncertainty around the diagnosis and treatment was fascinating and, I imagine, representative of the time (1970s). Perhaps the most difficult part about reading the book was the postscript by Weingarten's husband and children, which confirmed that they had no idea how much angst and fear she had about the cancer treatment. Although this is evident from Weingarten's writing - she seems constantly to allay the concern of her family rather than tell them how she feels - knowing that her death likely came as a surprise made me feel particularly sad for her and her family. I felt lucky as a reader to know the truth under the happy mask and hope that when my time comes (assuming it is drawn out) I will be like the Violet of her journal.