The Smooth River
Finding Inspiration and Exquisite Beauty during Terminal Illness. Lessons from the Front Line
by Richard Cohen
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app
1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Oct 26 2021 | Archive Date Dec 17 2021
Talking about this book? Use #TheSmoothRiver #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!
Description
The Smooth River is the remarkable story of how a well-known public relations expert and her husband met her stage 4 pancreatic cancer head-on. With vigor and strength, they deployed all they and medicine had to offer. But, in contrast to narrow conventional approaches, the couple developed a far more expansive view of what strength means in response to a crisis for which there are no medical cures. They called this the Smooth River.
This clear-eyed transcendent perspective was so vital that they wouldn't let anything disrupt it—not cancer's lethal march, not the strongest chemos and their failures to work, not the frequent episodes of severe pain, not how society expected them to think or act, not the process of dying itself.
The Smooth River demonstrates how to treat one's life as bigger—and far more important— than any medical condition, any tragedy, any setback of any kind. With effusive warmth, refreshing candor and practical detail, it describes how to personalize Medical and Life Plans that affirm the value of a patient's being and guide their loved ones. Its invaluable lessons show how to face the possibility of dying with sanctity and comfort, to view it as an opportunity for personal growth, finding inspiration and intense beauty in the experience—in life itself. There are lessons in the Smooth River approach for everyone.
Bio:
Richard S. Cohen was by his wife Marcia's side when she was diagnosed on September 3, 2019, with stage 4 pancreatic cancer and woke up in her hospital room after she had exhaled her last breath 160 days later on February 10, 2020. Carrying out Marcia's wishes, he coordinated every step of her care, navigating medical resources at four different hospitals while also conferring with leading pancreatic oncologists elsewhere. Trained as a corporate lawyer, Richard is a merger and acquisition advisor specializing in the healthcare industry. He is an expert in navigating complex transactions, developing grounded creative solutions, and managing many professionals and personalities during stressful conditions. All of these skills were put to work in finding sanctuary, beauty, humor, and spirituality within cancer's decay. Unencumbered by medical convention but having a deep respect for it and the clinicians who cared for her, Richard translated Marcia's ethos into a creative, personalized, and inspiring approach for dealing with terminal illness.
A Note From the Publisher
Author is available for interviews, blog tours, autographed tours, autographed book giveaways, contests, and book club discussions
Advance Praise
Kirkus Reviews - "This tender and startlingly lucid work offers patients and their loved ones a wealth of knowledge, and it may also show physicians a new way to help people learn to cope with the prospect of dying ... A heart-rending but informative end-of-life guide."
Booklife/Publishers Weekly - "Bursting with life, The Smooth River leads by example...An inspiring, beautifully written account of living with purpose when faced with terminal illness."
Jordan Berlin MD, Associate Director for Clinical Research, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center - "This wonderful book gives voice to those who don't want to define themselves by the ravages of serious illness."
Eugene H. Hirsh, MD, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, Retired, Emory University of Medicine - "This is an important book for care receivers and care givers - families and physicians/medical personnel alike."
Laura Hanlon, M Ed, LCSW, Bereavement Coordinator - "The Smooth River is a great guide for people who have to navigate through serious illness or for those who want to better understand the experience and derive inspiration from it."
Foreword Reviews: 5 out of 5 Rating. - "The narrative is the most engaging and transformative element of the book, and the story is told with excellence—compelling scenes, precise diction, well-crafted characterizations ... a self-help book that shows how to live a full life, even in the face of death.".
IndieReader - "... a clearly written guide to end-of-life care and contains a wealth of relatable, practical advice. It is also an astute contemplation on life and living containing passages of extraordinary beauty. "
Reedsy Discovery: 5 out of 5 Stars. A Must Read - "The writing was excellent and ... a great book that anyone can read. [M]ade me cry and want to create my own life plan. It truly is a great book..."
Blueink Review - "The Smooth River ... serves as practical inspiration to make life meaningful -- as the current moves us toward what we all inevitably share."
OnlineBookClub - 4 out of 4 stars. - "[A]n exceptional combination of memoir and guidebook ... a lovely read. [R]ecommended to all those people whose loved ones may be affected by a fatal illness...[A]spiring doctors and medical students may also find this book very helpful."
