Friday Freebie: Cancer, I’ll Give You One Year by Jennifer Spiegel

Congratulations to Sylvia Danforth, winner of last week’s Friday Freebie contest: The Bramble and the Rose by Tom Bouman.

This week’s contest is for a book I am especially pleased to be giving away to one lucky reader: Cancer, I’ll Give You One Year by Jennifer Spiegel (Love Slave). I had the privilege of reading an early copy of Jennifer’s witty (and sobering) account of surviving cancer, told in a “real-time” journal format. Here’s what I said by way of a blurb for the cover of the book:

On the first page of her no-holds-barred memoir, Cancer, I’ll Give You One Year, Jennifer Spiegel tells us I’m just another writer trapped inside my truth. The truth is, this book that reads like a diary about her “cancer-tainted marriage” comes loaded with knockout punches that will leave readers reeling with awe for her bravery in the face of breast cancer (though Spiegel would probably make gagging sounds over me saying that). The truth of the matter is also that this is a gut-honest book that will make you laugh and squirm and get nose-prickly with tears and want to run every pink-ribboned marathon in support of cancer research. I can think of few other books in which the author has bared her heart as wholly and generously as Spiegel has in these pages.

Keep scrolling for more information on the novel and how to enter the contest...

Cancer, I’ll Give You One Year: A Non-Informative Guide To Breast Cancer, A Writer’s Memoir In Almost Real Time is not about eating kale. The book is 100 percent narrative nonfiction and 0 percent self-help. It was actually written for the author’s children in case she died. This sounds morbid, but maybe “pointed” and “candid” are better words. Embracing candor as an aesthetic, this real-time story hits upon the sacred, the profane, a trip to Epcot, a colonoscopy, her kids’ responses to everything, and O. J. Simpson’s parole hearing. Writing-centric, voice-driven, and conscious of a death sentence―no diets or exercises are offered, but the author may give horrible parenting advice. It’s undoubtedly funny, but also a meditation on meaning.

If you’d like a chance at winning Cancer, I’ll Give You One Year, simply e-mail your name and mailing address to

thequiveringpen@gmail.com

Put FRIDAY FREEBIE in the e-mail subject line. Please include your mailing address in the body of the e-mail.

The Fine Print
One entry per person, please (or, two if you share the post—see below). Despite its name, the Friday Freebie remains open to entries until midnight on Feb. 27 at which time I’ll draw the winning names. I’ll announce the lucky reader on Feb. 28.

The Finer Print
If you’d like to join the mailing list for the once-a-week newsletter, simply add the words “Sign me up for the newsletter” in the body of your email. Your e-mail address and other personal information will never be sold or given to a third party (except in those instances where the publisher requires a mailing address for sending Friday Freebie winners copies of the book).

The Finest Print
Want to double your odds of winning? Get an extra entry in the contest by posting a link to this webpage on your blog, your Facebook wall or by tweeting it on Twitter. Once you’ve done any of those things, send me an additional e-mail saying “I’ve shared” and I’ll put your name in the hat twice.