I Dreamt of Sausage by Corinna Borden

As if being newly married to a resident husband who rarely leaves the hospital, separated from family by miles, and finding herself in a small town isn't enough stress for anyone, being diagnosed with lymphoma further complicates things for Corinna Borden.  Through journal entries and snippets of episodes of her life we are able to journey with her as she navigates her way,  and she does make it her way, her unique journey documented in I Dreamt of Sausage.



Through out the memoir she does battle--with her family, the medical community,  her body and the voices/tapes we all play in our minds.  She does her best to escape the toxicity of traditional medicine, often opting for treatments that do not benefit her, delaying treatments that are proven, although unpleasant.  She falls victim to unscrupulous New Age gimmicks, taking thousands of dollars of supplements, submitting to daily coffee enemas and subscribing to nonsense-speak at times.

Corinna's parents and sister and especially her husband are patient and accepting, even when they believe her life is in grave danger.  Even the slightest question about her alternative treatments elicit temper tantrums and yelling "You don't support me!"  Finally her family just accepts that she is doing what she is going to do.  I can't even imagine how hard this was for them, especially for her husband, whose life work is based in science, not New Age magic.


All in all, Borden writes a courageous recollection of her cancer road trip, and while it isn't the map I would have followed, it was an interesting read and I give this one a solid 3 blooms.


Disclosure:   This book was given to me by the author in exchange for a review.  No other compensation was offered and no promise of a positive review was promised to the author.