Before I Go: A Book Club Recommendation!

This has now become my favorite book, so far, of 2015. Although it is not a “feel good – happy ending” book, I could relate a lot. It is about a young, married woman, Daisy, married to Jack, who is finishing up his dual degrees to become a veterinary doctor and a PhD doctor (a 7-year journey). Daisy is a breast cancer survivor of three years (after going through chemo and radiation), working on her graduate degree, and waiting to travel and have children with Jack once his degree is finished in a few months. Their whole life has been working towards this goal, and then what they will do “after.” She is about to celebrate her 3-year “cancerversary” when she has her annual tests and gets the news that her cancer is back, and this time it’s stage IV, incurable, and everywhere - brain, bones, breast, liver, lungs. She has a six-month prognosis to live. The book is all about her emotions, her fear that her beloved husband, Jack, can’t function without her, and that she needs to find him a second wife for after she’s gone. But then she has second thoughts about it and gets jealous thinking of him with someone else. She shuts her husband out, not wanting him to go to doctor appointments or surgeries with her, and not talking to him about her feelings or his. She literally shuts down. I think unconsciously she was pushing him away, thinking he might as well get used to not being with her, when all he wanted was to be with her. I wanted to shake her and tell her that she’s still alive, not dead yet, and she needs to LIVE her last months with him! The writing is beautiful and the story is so poignant, raw, and moving. I can’t believe it is Colleen Oakley’s first novel! The novel deals with many issues: death, life, love, the mother/daughter relationship, best friend relationship, introspection, letting go, and a host of other themes. I literally felt like I was inside Daisy’s head and could feel what she was feeling and think what she was thinking. Some of the sentences were written so perfectly and beautifully that I just stopped reading and pondered them.I especially related to this book because I am a 10 year breast cancer survivor myself, and recently I had a scare, fearing that it had returned. Luckily, all my tests (first tests done in 10 years) were clear. But for a brief time I felt like Daisy, scared of a recurrence, but I was so lucky and fortunate that it was nothing. In her case, she was only 27, so very young, so her diagnosis was doubly scary. Also, I have a friend whose husband was recently diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer, and what she is going through I can only imagine. So this book had special meaning for me at this time. It made my throat tighten at certain scenes and I cried throughout; it was very cathartic! Like I said, it is a heartbreaking book, but my favorite of this year. I highly recommend it.

I gave this book four stars because I found myself often so frustrated with both of the main characters (Daisy and Jack). I was frustrated with the way that Daisy kept pushing her husband away and seemed to be so selfish at times. She almost seemed callous to me as well with her mother, especially. I felt that she could have been more... soft toward her mother's emotions. I was frustrated with Jack in that he didn't try to be more assertive with Daisy. I feel that he should have read into Daisy's behaviors more as her coping mechanisms of dealing with the weight of cancer and her imminent demise.However, with all of this being said, I have never gone through cancer and everyone reacts to and copes with it differently.Even though I was frustrated, I couldn't stop reading, either. It was a very good read. I cried at times because it made me think of my mother's battle with cancer and the feelings expressed by Daisy were almost palpable. The twist at the end was unexpected and very welcome as well.Great book. I just wish I had felt less frustrations with the characters.

If I could give this book a 10 star rating I would! I loved it, even though it saddened me, from beginning to end.This is such a thought provoking book, what id I had cancer and I knew that I was going to die in a short period of time, who would take care of my husband when I am gone?Life was starting to look up for Daisy and Jack and they were celebrating her remission from her first round with breast cancer and then there is a blow that neither expected. Her cancer is back and it is far worse than they have ever dealt with.Now they are faced with the question - how are we going to attack this? Are we going to fight? Are we going to savor the time remaining and try to enjoy it together?Then one night she is up worrying about her husband and she decides that she needs to find him a new wife before she passes. She makes it her mission. She scouts coffee shops and creates an online dating profile, in hopes of finding this perfect person for Jack.It's an amazing story of illness, undying love and devotion and sacrifice that will keep you entangled in it's pages from beginning to end.

I didn’t think I would like the book, but I ended up getting quite emotionally involved. Yes, it is an easy read and not something that I would want to keep on my bookshelf forever, but reading it was very satisfying.

Thoughtfully written story about a twenty-seven year old married student who finds her breast cancer has returned with a vengeance. Colleen Oakley takes you on a fevered journey where Daisy Richmond must deal with her diagnosis and the devastation it wreaks on both her and her loved ones lives. Easily read in one evening, it's a touching book about the varied ways we love; friendships, mother-daughter, husband-wives and what we are willing to do for love. Daisy is a micro manager and decides to find someone to take care of her husband once she is gone. This is a story about loving enough to enjoy the moment, to stop our busy lives and just live. It's also about what the footprints we leave behind. Well written, touching and sweet, I am happy I got to know Daisy, if only for the few hundred pages of her story. She will live on in my imagination for a long time to come.

Excelente para reflexão

Perfect ! I couldn't put it down. I cried, I laughed,... It makes you realize that we shouldn't take life and things for granted.

"Before I Go" is a lovely, sad but ultimately uplifting love story. Daisy is given the devastating news at age 27 that the cancer she beat into remission nearly 4 years ago is back.Even though when reading the synopsis you have a heads-up that this book has a sad ending it seemed to hit harder than I thought it would. That's probably because the author did a wonderful job with the character development. I felt like I was inside Daisy's head and even though it was told from her POV (until the epilogue) I felt like I knew Jack as well. It was pretty amazing to read about Daisy's journey, how she reacted to certain situations and how she coped. The description makes it sound like the main storyline is about Daisy trying to find a new wife for Jack but that's only a small part of it.The author handles Daisy's anxiety, terror, confusion and despair without resorting to clichés, making her ultimately a believable character. The topic certainly inspires each of us to think "what would I do if I were given only months to live?" and indeed none of us can know that until we are faced with the news ourselves.This is an exceptional debut novel, and I look forward to reading more of Oakley's work. This is a really well written book, she captures sadness without lapsing into melancholy, and laces it with enough humour that it's bearable. The novel is thought provoking, entertaining, with a satisfying & realistic ending.

nice to have around

I really enjoyed 'Too Close to Touch' so as soon as I finished that book, I instantly ordered this one. Even though I struggled to get into this book at first, (thought it was rather long-winded to begin with and took a while to get into the main story), I really did enjoy this one. I feel so much empathy for Daisy and what she's going through, and what she feels she has to do for her husband. A sweet but very hard thing to do. By the end of the book, I was nearly in tears. A emotional story which really tugs at the heartstrings. A must read!