Writing
In September of 2015, I was a forty-something first-time bride marrying the love of my life. In June 2016, almost nine months to the day after celebrating my wedding, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Within a year my primary identity went from newlywed to cancer patient. Instead of shopping for bridal gowns and writing wedding vows, I was making medical appointments and searching out scarves to warm up my now-bald head.
Still Life, Beyond Cancer is dedicated to the idea that even–maybe especially?–in the face of a cancer diagnosis, life, with all its challenges, griefs, joys, and beauty, still goes on. The blog opens in 2016 with regular updates through mid-2017, and re-starts in 2020.
Mine No More is a graphic memoir created as part of The Sketchbook Project, a collection of artist’s sketchbooks housed at the Brooklyn Art Library.
The memoir recounts, in word and image, my breast cancer diagnosis and response to that news. It also explores the possible connections between environmental pollution, especially coal, and cancer clusters.
You can read the digitized sketchbook here.
Forty-Something First Time Bride
Forty-something and freshly engaged, I found myself alternately amazed and aghast at the wide, wild world of weddings in the new millennium. “Unity sand” is really a thing? When my husband Steve and I married in September of 2015, I had to learn how to navigate the life of a newlywed.
FsFTB includes a little cultural commentary, a whole lot of love story, a few tips for DIY decor, and the occasional life lesson gleaned from love in the slow lane. It opens in September 2014 and closes in fall 2016.
Sandee McGlaun 