This book gave an honest perspective from someone diagnosed and living with cancer and how they dealt with it in their personal, work, and social lives. As someone who hasn't had cancer in my immediate family, I appreciated up front feelings the author provided. I was a little confused about the tango sections but it became clear at the end. It was an enlightening book. Whether you just want to understand or if don't want to feel alone, this is a book you should read.

If you care, this is worth reading.
1. Moon/ Tango brings us to the common threads of joys, pain, fears and hope.
2. It weaves you through the “fabric of us“ —of belonging to each other- family, community, medical staff—the whole team of humanity that were a part of her journey.
3. It brings you to the reality that “everything you do throughout the year is a brushstroke, and how you fill the canvas is completely up to you.”
4. And you are pulled into Michele’s heart and compassion for those surrounding her, “paying attention to the intricacies that make each of us uniquely ourselves. Because love is in the specifics, I didn’t want to miss any of them. “

There are memoirs and then there is this memoir. Michele Wheeler has crafted a written record of her nine-year “cancering” journey as she calls it, for her beloved twin daughters. She possessed unimaginable strength, courage and sheer will to create this precious work of love, while navigating and authentically sharing her daily life, the unknowns, fear and intensity of this disease; from her first diagnosis of the “good kind of cancer that is treatable” to her last one. Michele’s profound messages on living and the complexity of acceptance, rich in metaphor, is meticulously braided through every chapter with each strand closely intertwined into the essence of her life. Her written prose is at times lyrical, while also lucid and direct, punctuated with humor and short, dynamic sentences for quickly absorbing the dialogue throughout. This powerful book is that one read you just cannot put down and promises to continue to deeply inspire and transform long after you have finished.

Michele Wheeler courageously shares her journey in this deeply personal, inspiring memoir. Granting the reader full & intimate access to her path in facing cancer, no matter her challenge her spirit shines in the light of gratitude for life, love, family and friends. Uniquely blending an incisive wit and unrelenting truth, her story inspires us to be better people, more loving, open, supportive, appreciative. Michele’s Tango opens the heart and draws us to the dance floor to move, to feel, to shimmy, twirl and sway..

This book is a raw, heartbreaking account of facing terminal breast cancer at a young age. It will resonate with anyone who has experienced or witnessed life-threatening disease, and it offers a painfully authentic window into the experience for those that haven’t. With wit and clarity, Wheeler tackles challenges of loss of identity, grief, denial, anxiety, and despair, but also finds much love, hope, humor, connection, and ultimately acceptance in her battle with cancer. From admitting that “There are worse things than getting stage IV cancer and watching your daughter get it is one of them” to realizing she has to sit down and tell her daughters that she is dying, the author invites readers into the private world of navigating stage II and later terminal cancer. I was crying but also laughing as I steamed through this jaggedly beautiful account of one of life’s cruelest challenges.

This book was very enlightening for me. It made me so much more aware of what people have to face when diagnosed with cancer. There are so many decisions to make; whether it is scientific by the manner in which the cancer is to be treated or, equally as important, the emotional side as to when to inform family, friends and even to those who would be included within the personal circle. The author truly wrote from the heart, thus making me feel like I was right there in every emotional moment. This is a book that should be read to gain insight into the human side of difficult events like cancer.

Michele paints a beautiful picture of a woman who is learning how to accept a harsh truth with grace and dignity. The acceptance of living with stage 4 cancer. She does this by bringing the reader into her world on a deeply personal level. Humor is sprinkled in to recounts of tireless cancer treatments, countless tests, and procedures, and learning along the way how to be present with the people around her, especially her twin daughters. . Michele also weaves a fictitious story of a couple learning how to dance Tango- not an easy thing to do. These interludes provide a context to her personal story and leaves it up to the reader to decide your own interpretation. Michele’s life is a triumph of the highest order. And that order is love. Above all, she loves people. All people. You! Yes! She loves you! What a wonderful gift for all who read.

The Throbbing Moon and the Three Season Tango is the author’s personal journey battling cancer for nine years. This is a book you could easily read in a couple of days, and at the same time, not wanting it to end. This book should be read by everyone who knows someone going through any life-threatening illness. She shares her experience with treatments and the side effects, her unspoken thoughts, and the love of her family and friends. Michelle’s ability to impact the lives of so many left me with feeling deprived by not knowing her. She seemed to be an awesome wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend.

The Throbbing Moon and the Three Season Tango offers an intimate tour of a life's landscape - a landscape irrevocably altered by cancer but still infused with breathtaking beauty and abundance. Along the journey a colorful cast of characters and experiences emerge from the Northern Wisconsin woodlands, each rendered with honesty, compassion, and insight. By turns humorous and heartbreaking, the stories in this book shimmer with a humanity that both confronts cancer and transcends it. Readers will find themselves savoring shared connections, lingering at the overlooks, and remembering every sunset.

A beautifully written memoir. This author portrays the ups and downs of a terminal illness including the initial shock, the sureness of a. cure, the despair, depression, realty and the acceptance of the finality. The love, caring, and total support are very apparent, along with the inner strength of the author..

This beautifully written memoir is about so much more than cancer. It's about the connections that make us who we are and about the changes that happen deep within us when we "leap from vine to vine" trying to get to the other side of a seemingly impossible life-altering challenge. The change started when the author first took "a sabbatical in the 'cancery' cosmos ...that treasured reverence for living so highly that it took no time for granted...where a love for the beauties of now were made greater and more fragile because an un-promised future was a central tenant in the practice of living". Her description of the difficulty returning "to a world oblivious to how precarious our lives are, to a world filled with people who innocently assumed a security I could not feel" is a must-read for anyone who loves someone with a terminal illness. The author has the unique ability to seamlessly move from light-hearted antidotes of good times with her family and friends to life-altering realizations brought on by devastating news but still, somehow, she continues to make the reader feel like we're grabbing that "next vine" along side her. When the book ends and she's made her journey through all the things cancer has forced her to learn, even those of us who may never face a terminal illness come out on the other side as better people for having learned from her experience. I very highly recommend this beautiful memoir!

What a beautiful and heartwarming book… revealing the intense struggles of living with cancer. Wheeler is able to share the most intimate and vulnerable moments of her life in a very transparent and lovely way, bringing light and joy into the darkness. How amazing to have the awareness that others would need her to share this, and fortitude to guide them through her journey which would likely mirror so many others’. Whether you are personally “cancering”, supporting someone who is, or just want to live a more meaningful life, full of intention and love, this book is for you.

A beautiful and powerful statement on illness and life. The author pulled me into her journey and I'm better for it. Through incredible insight and human understanding, the author shares glimpses of her life. The book is an inspiration for anyone facing illness and actually anyone facing life.

This is one of those books that I will find myself thinking about for years to come.
Who would’ve thought a memoir chronicling the roller coaster of a terminal cancer diagnosis could give so much joy? It was a riveting and beautiful read, surprisingly funny, profound, poignant poetic and life-affirming. The author’s intelligence, empathy, strength, humor and love of life shine through even the darkest of chapters.
Michelle’s conversational style easily communicates the complicated layers of emotion involved in “cancering” : The need to protect her family, and project an optimistic public-facing outlook, and be honest with herself... all while taking control of her own journey and being genuinely authentic and kind.
Whether or not cancer has affected your life, this is a worthwhile journey to take, And an amazing reminder to truly appreciate every minute of beauty and ounce of love we experience in our “one and only life”.

I have never read a book like this before. Michele Wheeler gives us a perspective of stage IV cancer that most people will never hear, never be given the opportunity to take in. The Throbbing Moon and the Three Season Tango is a very well written account of one woman’s experience with late stage breast cancer. The author lets her guard down and opens up to let us see the raw emotion and harsh reality of coming to grips with her own mortality. The book is an excellent read, it’s not light-hearted but it is real, honest and very loving. I appreciate Michele for offering us all her insight into “cancering” as she puts it, to help the reader see and feel her experience intimately. I feel this book is not only about coming to terms with your own mortality, or loss, or grief, but it’s about life. Life is precious, and not always fair but to be appreciated and savored at every moment and never to be taken for granted. Thank you Michele for letting us in, I have a different perspective now.

The Throbbing Moon and the Three Season Tango is a compelling memoir describing her life through the stages of cancer. It documents the scientific and emotional needs of Michele during the highs and lows of the disease. With humor and love, she shows how the strong support of her friends and family helped navigate her through her journey.

Memoirs are not my first choice of reads, but the title and artwork on this one caught my eye. What a very challenging journey Mrs. Wheeler had! The tremendously supportive family, community and healthcare providers that she attracted, attest to the strength and "magnetism" of her personality. Obviously she was very intelligent and thorough in considering the pathways she had to travel. Her personal heroism is truly inspiring.
I will admit this was difficult read for me at times and I had to let the journey rest a couple of times. Being two years post lumpectomy and radiation, the difficulties Michele faced needed my emotional release. Bless her for sharing her journey. Andy 1002

A well written history of the emotional ups and downs of fighting terminal cancer. A poignant telling of one families' struggle against an insidious disease. It will tear at your heart strings. A must for those fighting cancer.

Ms. Wheeler's talent as an author is evident throughout the book, "The Throbbing Moon and the Three Season Tango". This compelling memoir captured my attention and my heart from the very first page. Even the title is intriguing! She writes with passion, wisdom, humor and grace. Ms. Wheeler's ability to communicate her raw emotions allows the reader to feel her soul. She humbly shares all details of her personal life, and the pain and frustration of dealing with a terminal cancer diagnosis. It is evident that she is a passionate mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend and an advocate of our environment. The book leaves you with many life lessons and encourages us to be better human beings. My favorite quote from the book is something she often said to her two teenage daughters: "Work hard today. Have fun. And be nice to someone who needs it".
This memoir of Ms. Wheeler's journey with "cancering" is a must read for everyone, regardless of whether cancer has affected your life. I feel blessed to have been able to read her story.

The authors humor and raw emotion brought me to laughter and tears throughout her captivating memoir. She takes us on her “cancering” journey through fear, hope, denial, love, anger, friendship and family. Stories of encounters with well-meaning friends and acquaintances presented needed lessons for us all. Her words influence me to be a better cancer supporter (or patient, if the time comes). And if that time comes, I sure hope I have a Heather, Autumn, Mihailo, and the super fine Mr. Jon Wheeler!