Rating: 
Summary: A Gem of a Book
Review: After thirty-seven years of ordained ministry as an Episcopal priest, along comes a book that speaks personally and pastorally to anyone with cancer or anyone who has to face cancer in a friend or family member.Barbara Pate Glacel has really produced a gem of a book, one that speaks from the heart and to the heart of anyone close to cancer. The author tells the story of her bout with breast cancer, and, using the very clever literary device of interspersing the text with letters and e-mails from family and friends, weaves a warm, engaging and very honest tapestry designed to assist others who hit the wall of cancer. This is a deeply personal book, while at the same time being a practical book. It offers a multitude of observations and suggestions for people battling cancer. And for the friend, counselor or pastor, the book is a godsend chucked full of good common sense. This book should have wide circulation among folks with cancer and all who deal with cancer. Perhaps word of mouth will propel it into a wider readership. It deserves it.
Rating:
Summary: A family members view
Review: As Barbara's sister-in-law, I was privileged to receive a first copy of this incredible story. Though I received weekly updates on Barbara's battle with breast cancer I was unable to be with her on her journey thru Brussels, Virginia and Texas. Her book enabled me to share with her the ups and downs, ins and outs, and the trials and tribulations she went thru. I was able to laugh and cry with her.
Through her wonderful words I experienced the terror that the dread disease of breast cancer causes and the great joy of the love and care of family and friends.
This is a must read book for all those military wives who are away from family and facing breast cancer. Barbara gives a detailed list of what is available from medical care to wigs.
As a military wife I thank Barbara for the advice and motivation. As a family member of a breast cancer victim I thank Barbara for all of the insight and what to expect. As Barbara's sister-in-law I thank her for the opportunity of living the journey with her and the love with which she shared it.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended for its insight and message of empowerment
Review: Author and breast cancer survivor Barbara Glacel presents Hitting The Wall: Memoir of a Cancer Journey, a personal memoir that offers hew own experiences and coping strategies for dealing with the many aspects of cancer diagnosis and treatment. Reassuring the reader that she is not alone, Hitting the Wall covers the gamut of emotional experiences, the need for hope and support, the daily difficulties in adjusting to hospital stays and treatment side effects, and more. Recommended reading for its insight and message of empowerment.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Important Book for Friends of those with Cancer
Review: Barbara Glacel is not only the consummate professional, she is the wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend we would all wish to have. Her journey through the quagmire of the Belgian health care system while trying to make sense of a diagnosis of breast cancer is one that all women will understand, whether or not they have lived overseas. For many women who are diagnosed with a serious illness, it may be the first time in their lives that they reach out and ask for, or perhaps even demand--help. Though this book touches on every aspect of the experience of living with a diagnosis of breast cancer, and finally becoming a survivor, what I most appreciated was that it somehow "gave permission" for women, even very strong women, to ask others to help care for them, rather than try to "tough it out" alone. It is a great gift of writing for friends and loved ones of anyone battling a serious illness, and points out how very important it is to support and love and pray for the person who is ill. Bravo, Barbara, for showing that being vulnerable is not a weakness, but in fact can bring us even closer to those we cherish and love.
Rating:
Summary: Kudos from another survivor!
Review: Barbara skillfully captures the essence of a breast cancer survivor's journey. Even though each of our stories is unique, she takes us through the various phases of her illness in a way that we can identify with, while at the same time marvel at her courage and strength. Her ability to navigate the health care system of a foreign country, with all it's complexities, while at the same time build her own international network of support is remarkable. Barbara's nobel efforts to become an advoate for other military families struggling with cancer are worthy of our admiration. Her honest self revelations are balanced with grateful praise for her family, friends and medical team. She gives readers an inside view of living with a disease that all women dread, in such a way that we gain hope from her persistent pursuit of wellness and normalcy. I finished Barbara's book on my own 5th year anniversary of "hitting the wall" - an appropriate way to celebrate! I highly recommend this resource to other survivors, friends and family of women faced with breast cancer, as well as medical professionals caring for them.
Rating:
Summary: Hitting the Wall
Review: Dr. Barbara Pate Glacel has provided with her personal book a wonderful tool for the reader to use in their understanding of cancer. Her writings are so clear and emotional that one finds him or herself caught up in her intense struggle to first come to terms with her disease, and then, also her treatment. How I wish I had this book years ago when my father was dying of cancer. It would have enabled me to have helped him in his own fight, providing comfort and knowlege and yes, humor too. I totally recommend this book to anyone who has cancer or who has a loved one who is "Hitting the Wall".
Rating:
Summary: Heartfelt and Informative
Review: Hitting the Wall by Barbara Pate Glacel was the first of the many breast cancer books that I have read as a caregiver that made me both laugh out loud and cry. Sharing notes and letters to and from friends and family during her struggle with breast cancer treatment, Barbara Glacel exposes her ordeal with honesty and compassion. But beyond being able to indentify with the emotional aspects of her struggle, I came away from reading this book with many good tips, ideas and resources to share with my own mother during her fight against breast cancer.
Rating:
Summary: Heartfelt and Informative
Review: Hitting the Wall by Barbara Pate Glacel was the first of the many breast cancer books that I have read as a caregiver that made me both laugh out loud and cry. Sharing notes and letters to and from friends and family during her struggle with breast cancer treatment, Barbara Glacel exposes her ordeal with honesty and compassion. But beyond being able to indentify with the emotional aspects of her struggle, I came away from reading this book with many good tips, ideas and resources to share with my own mother during her fight against breast cancer.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read
Review: Hitting the Wall documents the feared experience of breast cancer in such a way that the reader is uplifted and enlightened. Barbara Glacel describes her ordeal with breast cancer vividly and with such detail that I found myself walking with her every step of the way. I could not put the book down. I laughed. I cried. Barbara is so open in her book, describing every aspect of this dreadful disease and how it affected her and her family. It made me aware of the support we all need when faced with something like this. Barbara had a huge network of friends and family and she needed every one of them. I am grateful to Barbara for sharing her experience. Every person who knows someone suffering from this disease or who has experienced breast cancer first hand would benefit from reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: Understanding my disease
Review: Hitting the Wall read like a novel to me. I felt more knowledgeable, more in control and more comforted after reading this account. Once I started reading it I could not put the book down. Everything that happened to Barbara in the beginning of the book happened to me. I felt alone, afraid and devastated of my diagnosis. I think anyone who reads this account of the illness will be rencouraged by the hope received from Hitting the Wall.
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