I began reading this book without knowing the details and was quite surprised to find out it was a book about living through Hodgkin's lymphoma. I lived through this myself some years ago. Susan speaks quite eloquently about the physical and the emotional aspects of the trauma. I was particularly impressed with the immense strength and closeness of her immediate family. Her mother and father were both extraordinarily brave and giving. Her father especially as he was going through his own private hell with incurable cancer at the same time. To say that this family made lemonade out of lemons is not an overstatement. They were under tremendous monetary stress because Susan's father had lost his job after his own diagnosis of cancer and their medical coverage was in question. When they discovered that the ginger cookies made by Susan's mom helped the nausea of patients at the cancer clinic, they decided to make these the centerpiece of the baking business the mom started. These "susansnaps" became very popular.

I enjoyed this book very much. It is well-written and easily engaging. Susan and her family were a pleasure to spend time with. I recommend it.
As an aside, it is painful to me as a Canadian with universal healthcare to read about the immense stress finances seem to play. I myself have experienced two forms of cancer and received treatment at the highest standard in the world without ever experiencing even one second of worry about paying the (immense) cost. This is an aspect of healthcare available in all developed nations outside of the U.S.

I requested this book for my mother, and while she enjoyed it, she said it wasn't one of her favorites.

I would give this 4.5 if I could. I don't know how I missed that it was a memoir, so I started reading it as fiction, thinking, "Wow...interesting story." Then, partially through, I looked up "Susansnaps," and realized it was a memoir. The story is told between mother and daughter, with the mom writing notes to her sister, who passed years before, from cancer. This is a good read for people looking to start a business, for those who have cancer and need hope, who know someone with cancer, or someone who enjoys baking. Really...it's good for anyone. It was interesting, and as I said, I thought I was reading fiction, so it was well written. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for an e-ARC of this title.

This is an incredibly sweet memoir of a young woman's journey with cancer, and how her mother's response and support began an unexpected adventure into the cookie business. Laura, the mother, tells her side of this story through letters to her sister, for whom her daughter is named and who died of the same type of cancer.

Sweet but not saccharine, this book is an enjoyable read.