Diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma three weeks after his thirtieth birthday, Juan Alvarado Valdivia finds himself immersed in Cancerlandia—oncology appointments, waiting rooms, and chemotherapy infusions at San Francisco General Hospital. Afraid that the illness will destroy his fledgling relationship and writing aspirations, Alvarado Valdivia tries to lead a normal life. He bikes three miles to his treatments while listening to heavy metal, attends writing workshops, and continues his hard-partying ways. When his girlfriend Paola ends their on-again, off-again relationship after a particularly troubling episode of binge drinking, he begins to acknowledge his anger and alcohol abuse. Comic and unsparing, ¡Cancerlandia! chronicles Alvarado Valdivia’s journey as he not only fights to survive his personified adversary, Mr. Hodgkins, but also struggles with his own self-destructive spirit.
About the Author: Juan Alvarado Valdivia
Juan Alvarado Valdivia is a Peruvian American writer who was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and raised in Fremont, CA. He received his MFA in creative writing from Saint Mary’s College of California. His fiction and nonfiction have been published in The Acentos Review, Black Heart Magazine, BorderSenses Literary Magazine and Label Me Latina/o. His first book, ¡Cancerlandia!: A Memoir, was listed as a Top 10 Best Nonfiction book for 2015 on TheLatinoAuthor.com. He lives in Oakland.
Reviews/Quotes
“Juan Alvarado Valdivia is a writer to watch. He has ignited his engines and is burning his way into high orbit. I am a great admirer of this book, and it makes me impatient for the books to come.” — Luis Alberto Urrea, author of The Hummingbird’s Daughter “Juan Alvarado Valdivia’s memoir is so funny and so deeply moving and so wonderfully written that you can’t believe, at first, that it is a cancer memoir. Unsentimental, hilarious, heartbroken in the best sense: you have to read this book.” — Wesley Gibson, author of You Are Here: A Memoir of Arrival “In this frank and often humorous memoir, Alvarado Valdivia documents the yearlong battle he waged against the disease, making his way through chemotherapy and radiation while endeavoring to come to terms with his own private demons. As he faces down the evil foe he dubs ‘Mr. Hodgkins,’ Alvarado Valdivia works his way to health and a newfound understanding of himself.” — The Mercury News || REVIEWS: "Although this memoir is about the author’s struggle through a portion of his life after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, it is written with such candor that you will find it thought provoking. The author goes into detail with his thoughts, weaknesses, and struggle in dealing with this life and death situation. You can’t help but wonder what you would do in his place." -reviewed by Corina Martinez Chaudhry of The Latino Author.com Weblink: http://thelatinoauthor.com/cancerlandia/ “In this frank and often humorous memoir, [Alvarado Valdivia] documents the yearlong battle he waged against the disease, making his way through chemotherapy and radiation while endeavoring to come to terms with his own private demons. As he faces down the evil foe he dubs ‘Mr. Hodgkins,’ Valdivia works his way to health and a newfound understanding of himself.”—San Jose Mercury News “An irreverent debut memoir from Juan Alvarado Valdivia about surviving Hodgkin lymphoma.”—Hemispheres “[Alvarado Valdivia] infuses the heartbreak with humor. And his encounters with his personified opponent, Mr. Hodgkins, make for some of the most compelling reading.”—Oakland Magazine
Additional information
Book Author
Juan Alvarado Valdivia
Publisher
University of New Mexico Press
Language
English
ISBN
978-0826341891
Pages
352
Format
Paperback
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