The author writes in a compelling manner. It made me laugh and cry at various points, but what the author does best is bring up points that those that contemplate death rarely consider or write about. It is at those points that one stops reading and ponders and think through your own thoughts and feelings about situations considered. The characters in the book come alive and it seems you were a member of the family going through what the author and family experienced.

Thank you to Netgalley for my ARC of this book.
I picked this book without reading the blurb and going on a whim and wished I didnt!!
Beth writes about having cancer and how it changes her perception of her life and the world, which I thought would be an uplifting book, but for me it was too repetitive and jumped back and forth between time.
Also, I know her book is about her battle with cancer, but she describes her relationship with her family members, and how much she loves her husband, but she also describes him as an unloving, careless man and some of the things he says and choices he makes I wouldnt be happy about and he doesnt seem supportive at all!!
This just wasnt an enjoyable read for me.

I reviewed this book for NetGally and This is a novel that will have you in tears, in laughter and realizing that as women when the need is there we are stronger than we ever thought we could be. We put guilt on ourselves and live with it year after year even though we can not change the past. It is a story about forgiveness, acceptance and being grateful for what you do have not for what has been lost to you. We are all afraid of disease but when we get a diagnosis we must either stand up and fight because we want our family to have us as long as possible or we can just lie down and give up. Women don't give up and this book shows like so many women I know that we may not give up for ourselves but because we have a child that needs us, a husband that needs us, family that needs us. Would we make those same choices if it was just us out there. Many women have that decision to make. Live or go peacefully into the unknown. What would you do. After reading Beth Cramer's book I am still not sure which way I would go although I am much older than she was. She takes us through the ups and downs, the doctors say nothing really talk, and having to listen to everyone's advice even though they are not going through it. Are we allowed to get angry, are we allowed to just be by ourselves at times or is everything supposed to be around those who need you. This is a must read book for women of all ages.

This book was a tough read but I did persevere. It is about Beth's struggle against ovarian cancer. The book begins with a tough decision that she had to make. She was pregnant for the second time in her life, a decision she was unhappy with but had to take. She felt that this abortion was in some was responsible for her struggle with terminal cancer later on in life. While her thoughts and observations are both meaningful and poignant at times I found this book incredibly depressing, often. I know it a proof version too but there really were a lot of typos. I give three stars for this book.

I didn't finish this. Couldn't connect with the author. I'm not sure why but it may have to do with her abortion. I'm liberal but have trouble with that issue.

Why Didn’t I Notice Her Before? is Beth Cramer’s reflection on living life with terminal cancer. Though she had a successful career, a loving husband, and a son she adores, Cramer still wanted more. When she got pregnant for a second time, her and her husband, Todd, had vastly different opinions on the baby. Reluctantly, Cramer had an abortion that plagued her for years. She believes the intense guilt she feels over the abortion led to her stage IV ovarian cancer diagnosis—or is at least karma—that she must learn to finally deal with and let go.

Cramer does a great job of documenting her experience in a way that is realistic but not overly depressing. She does not sugar coat living with cancer. She doesn’t try too hard to be positive and throw around cliches, but she also doesn’t dwell on her terminal diagnosis. She understands that she has a great support system and access to hospitals and treatments that others may not, but she does not let that override the fear, anger, and sadness she feels. Her emotions are authentic and human, and this is where the book shines the most.

Overall though, I didn’t enjoy the plot. It was hard to get into and took me over 2 months to finish. The chapters are short and there is nothing inherently wrong with Cramer’s writing; I just didn’t particularly like how the chapters jump around. The timeline isn’t fluid and she goes back and forth between topics. I also found it super strange how highly she speaks of Todd, but his actions paint him to be a cold, disinterested husband. She even quotes her son, Noah, as calling him names and not wanting to stay with his father while she receives treatment in another state. Their marriage isn’t the point of the memoir, but Todd not wanting the second baby and pressuring Cramer into an abortion was the catalyst for the events in this story, so I think their relationship needed more attention.

Thank you to Net Galley and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

i will definitely look for more books from this author - kudos to the graphic design team, the cover is great

This book does not have a happy ending. It has a hopeful ending. Beth Cramer has written a story full of hope, and of life, and of living. As much as I would love to tell you this is a happy book, I can't. But it is a book worth reading. I admit, I started the book with trepidation, because it starts with Beth's having an abortion. I don't believe in abortion, and I have strong opinions about it. 

I didn't let that stop me from reading this book, though, and I'm so glad I continued. The abortion wasn't the focus of the story, it's the catalyst that lets the actual story begin. This book is a memoir about a woman's journey through cancer.

Beth receives a cancer diagnosis in 2017: Stage 4 Ovarian. She had spent the past several years obsessively trying to have another child after her abortion, and sees the cancer diagnosis as a kind of freedom from that obsession. This freedom allows her to look at her life differently, and do things differently than she did before. She notices things about herself she didn't see before, hence the title of the book.

This is normally when I would post an excerpt for you to read, but I think that would take away from the story as a whole. I recommend that everyone read this book. I found more hope in this story than I thought I would. To be honest, when the story started, I asked myself "OK, why did I request this book again? This is so depressing!" But I stuck with it, and was so grateful I did.

Beth's writing is positive, even during a sad, depressing experience. She was so vulnerable, and it popped through on the pages. I could tell she didn't just want to pass on her own story, but she wanted to encourage the reader to create his or her own. 

It doesn't matter what areas of life we are going through, Hope is a powerful thing. Living is a powerful thing. Surviving is not enough, we need to thrive through whatever is thrown at us.

The subject matter makes giving this book a full five stars difficult, but the way it's written, with such authenticity and transparency, makes it an easy 5 stars. If you enjoy memoirs, please pick this book up. If you enjoy a story that could send you running for the tissues every once in a while, please pick this book up. If you enjoy a story that is full of hope and life, please pick this book up.

I received this book for free, in return for an honest review. I hope I have given this book the justice it deserves, and I hope you can find it in yourself to get past the subject matter, and find the life underneath. I could go on and on about this book for an entire book by itself, but I think I'll just recommend it, and let you discover it yourself.

As someone who has experience with multiple family members with cancer, I was thankful that this book talked about the struggles that might not normally be discussed. The irritability, the person taking care of the household, the cost of the treatments, and the hundreds of different suggestions for diets. I was thankful that this book talked about more than just the medical side of cancer and talked about the nitty gritty.

Touching and heartbreaking.

This is the story of a women’s experience with the suddenness of cancer. When Beth Cramer is diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer, she is shocked and saddened. She is a mother and a wife to her husband and kids and feels a profound sadness for them. This book touches on the heartbreak cancer causes. I, at times, found it extremely difficult to read because of my own experiences with cancer. It brought me back to the sadness I felt for my family member when they were diagnosed. So, I do want to warn others about the potential anxiety this book can cause. However, this story is raw and real and feels like it will stick with you long after you’ve turned the last page.

4 stars.

When I set out to read this book I was expecting some eye-opening revelations from someone who is struggling with cancer. Maybe I was expecting too much.

Beth gets diagnosed with rare stage IV ovarian cancer, she seems to be stuck in the denial phase for this entire book. She writes about not wanting to be or become a cancer hero/ inspiration/ guru/ whatever, but why would you write a book about just that then? I understand people deal with things differently but Beth just seems to ignore all that goes on and it annoys me. There are no funny anecdotes in this book, not some horrible truths is just all-around mwah. In my opinion books with subjects like stage IV cancer should either be tearjerkers or hilarious tales, or some sort of mix of the too. It just can't be mwah, it's not the flu you're dealing with, it's serious. And the positive living nonsense, it won't help you heal, nor is Beth a positive person, she pretends to be. Everything is just so mediocre, I have had a lot of people around me deal with various types of cancer at various stages, let me tell you, none of them have such a boring story to share.

Why Didn’t I Notice Her Before? is a memoir detailing Beth Cramer’s diagnosis with ovarian cancer and her experience of treatment.