cancer
On Waiting
I am an expert on waiting. That doesn’t mean I’m good at it. On Twitter last night, Ibram X Kendi sagely compared his election feelings to the ones he had before cancer surgery. It’s true: very similar. Very life or death. But this morning, I can’t stop thinking about scans. Scans loom on the horizon…
Holy Shit
I thought: What would the rabbis say about the giant inflatable colon? As a colon cancer survivor, will I ever see shit as just shit again?
Blossoms (Hadeish Yameinu)
How do I reclaim a holiday of liberation when I feel like I’ve spent the last year entrapped by a frightening cloud of uncertainty?
Dear Flannery
Letters to friends, God, and Ms. O’Connor. Republished in honor of Briallen’s first book, Hard To Love: Essays And Confessions, out today from Bloomsbury.
![windyroad[Editor's note: you can read about Ashley's experience with biking as a "survivor" in the 2014 Closer to Free ride here. She has written more about cancer and her work with refugees here and in her KtB e-book <em>You Were Strangers: Dispatches From Exile</em>.]](https://killingthebuddha.com/wp-content/uploads/you_were_strangers_560-e1414546347525-300x175.jpg "you_were_strangers_560")
Ashley Wednesday
“I go to Mass early, start the day laden with the strangeness of being a Christian, of being part of this we who celebrate death and resurrection. After the ashes, Communion. After the bread and wine, the body and blood of Christ, it’s a relief to move on to bran flakes and coffee. But you’ve…
Strangers and Friends
A conversation with Ashley Makar and John Green, on the occasion of her new book, You Were Strangers.
Am I a Survivor?
I was ambivalent about wearing the word survivor on my sleeve, until I put on my biking jersey for Smilow Cancer Hospital’s “Closer to Free” ride. I’m a stage-IV cancer patient, currently in treatment at Smilow—not the kind of survivor who’s cancer-free. I didn’t want to wear the label that tends to be on the…
Doggerel Fails Me
An excerpt from the new e-book Cancer Doesn’t Give a Shit About Your Stupid Attitude.
Happy New Year from KtB!
Herewith, in the spirit of the season, a highly subjective New Year’s Eve countdown of our favorite KtB moments of 2013. 10 Illustrated posts by Communicant Mary Valle. 9 New books by Buddha-killers. 8 hot tips on new Buddha-killing movies by Becky Garrison. 7 Habits of a Highly Effective Philosopher. 6 Pieces of original reporting…
