This memoir on living with cancer was an easy read. An enjoyable memoir, despite the challenges for the author and an insight into how having cancer has impacted her life.

DNF

I did not read this book and I know longer have any interest in reading it. This was during the beginning of my NetGalley “everything looks great so I am going to request it without looking into the book. I have definitely become more selective in choosing what books I want to request and read.

I really enjoyed this book and will definitely read more of Lydia Slaby. It is powerful and honest. It reminded me a lot of my husband's journey with fighting cancer. I loved the message in it about why we need to stop craving to get back and simply move forward.

This book was a fascinating look at how a survivor rebuilds their life after making it through a cancer diagnosis. I've shared with several friends already.

A poignant memoir by Lydia Slaby's battle with lymphoma and detailing her journey from diagnosis to recovery.

Together with her husband she tackles this journey and undergoes a major transformation.
Brutally honest, she details her experiences explaining exactly what her diagnosis; various treatments and all other procedures mean. It opens up a window into a parallel world and brings the reader more understanding as to what is happening.
She also delves back into time; sharing her and Micheal's history - their relationship path, marriage turmoils - all with total honesty.
Every now and then she intersperses her writing with a blog post.
The post-cancer Lydia is a different person: she views life and death differently; she has new feelings and discoveries about her body; her attitude to various elements of her life has shifted.
This has been a brutally honest read with Lydia telling it as it was/is. And so much of what she says makes perfect sense, so it leaves you with something to mull over for one's own life long after you've closed the book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the chance to experience this journey.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Eerily relatable and heartbreakingly raw, Lydia Slaby’s honesty was greatly appreciated as she put into words so many of the diverse emotions that can be experienced both during and after an extreme and life changing chronic illness. The dry wit throughout the memoir acted as a counterbalance to the harsh reality of such an episode.

I am in charge of our Senior School library and am looking for a diverse array of new books to furnish their shelves with and inspire our young people to read a wider and more diverse range of books as they move through the senior school. It is hard sometimes to find books that will grab the attention of young people as their time is short and we are competing against technology and online entertainments.
This was a thought-provoking and well-written read that will appeal to young readers across the board. It had a really strong voice and a compelling narrative that I think would capture their attention and draw them in. It kept me engrossed and I think that it's so important that the books that we purchase for both our young people and our staff are appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible - as well as providing them with something a little 'different' that they might not have come across in school libraries before.
This was a really enjoyable read and I will definitely be purchasing a copy for school so that our young people can enjoy it for themselves. A satisfying and well-crafted read that I keep thinking about long after closing its final page - and that definitely makes it a must-buy for me!

First let me say that I too have gone through this same process with lymphoma and subsequent breast cancer. This means that I can emotionally connect on a deep level with Lydia Slaby’s experiences. So much of what she writes is correct, bang on the money. I’m always leery of cancer survivor chronicles that only see a positive side (My life is completely changed, I smell the roses now etc). I thank her for providing an honest and inspiring book. Highly recommended.
My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was delayed in writing this review because of the tears in my eyes. #SorryNotSorry. #WaitItGetsWorse #NetGalley

Lydia is a woman who has a perfect life. College, law degree, good job in a prestigious law firm, great husband. Except her marriage is in trouble. And she is having trouble breathing. And she is losing weight. A doctor’s appointment lands her in the ER being treated for cancer. And then open heart surgery. The heart surgery was what really got to me. Lydia is able to pull it together with the assistance of her family, her husband, her friends and an excellent health-care plan. In the end, she is able to rebuild her life the way it should be.

5 Stars (and hankies)
The book was provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

You might not think a memoir about cancer could possibly be an enjoyable read but Wait, It Gets Worse will prove you wrong.

Lydia Slaby is very open and honest with what was going on in her life, before, during, and after her cancer diagnosis and treatment. Looking in from the outside, Lydia seemed to have it all – a job as a lawyer that she loved, a marriage to a man she considered her soul-mate who worked for the Obama campaign, all the social and material trappings of success. But underneath the surface, her life was falling apart; her marriage was on the rocks, and the stress of her job left no time in her life for anything but work. And then, at 33, she got cancer. But wait, it gets worse. It really does – WAY worse!!

In a conversational tone that makes her seem like a good friend, she talks about what she has experienced, how she felt about it each step of the way, and the lasting effects of it all. When all is said and done, she comes to the realization that having cancer just may have saved her life in a multitude of ways.

This is an interesting, well-written and informative read. I am so grateful that she shared her journey with us, and even happier that now, her life truly seems to be on the right track. This book gets a 5-star rating from me!

Many thanks to NetGalley and to Disruption Books for allowing me to read an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

The book will be available to the public on 3/19/2019.

This was a very human, very raw book about facing Cancer, fighting it & trying to relinquish control in order to heal, not just physically but emotionally, mentally & spiritually. I particularly enjoyed reading the last section where she combines therapy and holistic methods to try and figure out how to rebalance.

It's not too triggering and it is not overwhelmingly sad. I think it is the perfect balance for anyone wanting to reading a memoir - even if you have cancer, in my opinion, it wouldn't be too much.

I'd 100% recommend this.

I'm not sure what led me to pick this books. I love the name and the cover, but honestly the subject didn't really interest me, but nonetheless I selected it and started reading.
This writing style is friendly and relaxed. You feel like you are sucked onto her couch as she tells you this wonderful, powerful, emotional story about her struggles with cancer, recovery, herself, her relationship, her professional life etc. It flows and is easy to get just read multiple pages without even realizing.
This isn't your typical cancer/survival story. She really just tells you about her. You can listen and walk away or you can choose to gleam more from what she's tried, gone through and learned. Whichever. It seems she would be happy with either and she's just happy to tell you her tale.
I enjoyed seeing the different side of this fight. She states " I was so desperate to go back to the hospital I actually was beginning to welcome the idea of getting hit by a car". Who says that? Why? Well she does and she will tell you why.... and it all makes sense.

Lydia Slaby has written a splendid memoir of living with cancer.

But, wait, as she says in the title, it gets worse, when non-existent conditions are diagnosed, leading to two major and life -threatening surgeries. It's a good thing for her physicians that Ms. Slaby, an attorney, is not of a litigious nature, because if ever there were grounds for negligence or malpractice suits, she has them. However, she devotes herself to recovering and recognizes that sometimes things just turn out as expected.

This is not to say that by any stretch of the imagination that she is a Pollyanna type. No. The very opposite. Lydia Slaby is a fierce and courageous woman and an excellent writer. So often personal accounts of terrible illnesses are poorly written "Why me?" stories, but not so this quite remarkable book. I couldn't out it down. This is a true profile in courage, told with love for all the people in it, by an admirable woman. Highly recommended.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley.

Reading cancer memoirs is a strange hobby, I admit. But it’s one of mine.

And this is a wonderful cancer memoir. Lydia Slaby is honest and straightforward. She is able to inhabit the key moments in her experience with cancer and to describe them without the gauzy hindsight that is common in looking back.

I especially appreciate the way she confronts the illusion of control that is common to the young and the strong, and describes her process of learning to live without that particular untruth.

Bravo, and please write more!

With thanks to NetGalley and Dirsuption Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! Lydia Slaby! Your raw narrartive of all that you went through over the years is amazing. Your recollection of each hospital visit and procedure shows the pain that you went through. All while your husband stepped up to the plate to be by your side. Though this book is about a difficult time, Lydia's writing is very conversational; hence why she started a blog to document her journey.

Since reading this book, I have visited the Hair Optional blog to see Lydia's progression. I think this novel will help those struggling with similar health situations and will show that yes it does get worse, but be a fighter because there is a life out there :)

Lydia Slaby seems to be living a wonderful life great if high pressured job at a Washington law firm happily married after many breakups to her high school sweetheart who works on President Obama’s campaign. Libby is getting ready to take off for a weekend in ny with her husband but first she has a drs.appointment she hasn’t been feeling well,This fast appointment changes her world this young seemingly healthy woman is suffering from cancer a rapidly growing tumor treatment has to start immediately her world starts to spin.Atbthe same time her husband of course is with her but we soon learn this is not the happy marriage we thought it was this couple was in counseling trying to survive,
Lydia Slaby is open real raw as she shares with us her cancer journey her life journey.So well written at times in the midst of the trauma funny but always real.#netgalley #Waititgetsworse #disruptionbooks