Review
Voweler: March 14, 2023 (Five stars)
Me and My Shadow is an inspiring memoir by John Walker Pattison in the year 2022. The book follows our author John who is a cancer survivor. He is a nice man, a lovely husband, and an awesome father who lived the life of a survivor and became stronger and more humble.
The book cover really gave me lively vibes, the content in the book resonates well with the book cover as it signifies a person can have multiple phases of life.
Book Review: Me and My Shadow by John W. Pattison
It is a story of a warrior who not only fought for his own life but also lived the near-death experience of his daughter Donna due to leukaemia.
"When you get a life live it to the fullest because not everyone gets one" after reading this line, I know one thing - life is so precious never take it for granted.
The book is a memoir of John Pattison who shares his real-life journey of overcoming cancer which he had suffered when he was only a teenager and also reflects upon his fears when his daughter was battling cancer.
It is a heart-wrenching and emotional book from the author who not only survived cancer but also gives a glimmer of hope to many people suffering from life-threatening diseases.
Literary Titan: April 16th 2024. (Five stars)
Me and My Shadow by John Walker Pattison is a deeply personal account of his lifelong journey with cancer, exploring his roles as a patient, father, and nurse. Pattison opens his story with a childhood overshadowed by a cancer diagnosis, a fact kept hidden by his parents. This narrative takes us through the complexities of his treatment, its enduring physical and psychological impacts, and the isolation from normal childhood experiences.
Pattison's story extends beyond his own battle with the disease. As a father, he recounts the heart-wrenching experience of supporting his daughter through her own cancer treatment, a chapter that lends a poignant depth to his narrative. His dual perspective as both patient and caregiver enriches the book, culminating in his decision to become a nurse. Here, Pattison's personal insights blend with professional care, offering a unique view into the world of healthcare.
The book does more than just shed light on the cancer experience. It delves into the broader tapestry of Pattison's life, including his exploration of Native American cultures, a vibrant childhood, a passion for rock music, and reflections on a challenging marriage. These varied experiences contribute to the richness of the memoir, painting a fuller picture of the author beyond his identity as a cancer survivor. This book resonates with authenticity and understanding for those touched by cancer, whether personally or through a loved one. Healthcare professionals, too, may find valuable lessons in Pattison's insights on patient care. The book weaves together heartfelt stories and reflections, revealing life's unpredictability and the importance of resilience.
Pattison's narrative is more than a memoir; it is a testament to the enduring human spirit in the face of adversity. His candid reflections and thoughtful observations offer a window into the complexities of living with and beyond cancer. Me and My Shadow is not just a story of survival but an invitation to embrace each moment of life with appreciation and awareness.
For the Love of the Page: (Jill Rey) February 4th 2024: (Five stars)
Cancer affects those it encounters more than just physically. There are emotional impacts, psychological impacts, and lifelong influences resulting from the disease.
Author John Walker Pattison, born in 1957, admits to having a rather uneventful childhood. While fun, happy, and full of life, nothing so newsworthy about his childhood would prompt a memoir.
Until 1975, at the age of eighteen when he begins experiencing bouts of fatigue. So notable in fact that after climbing down into the cofferdams of a boat he is meant to be welding, he is found sleeping after missing lunch. Time and time again his family doctor writes it off as something less life threatening until he is admitted to the hospital with suspected appendicitis. Tests, x-rays, pokes, and a series of investigations follow. Resulting in our author being given no type of explanation, at least as far as he's aware. Learning later that his parents, in what they thought was an attempt to protect him, hid the truth of his cancer diagnosis.
What follows is the toll this diagnosis took on him, his unrelenting love for Hawkwind and the unexpected support the Lakota Sioux Nation provided to him during his stage IV Hodgkin Lymphoma battle.
As a reader this memoir had a unique contribution to the field of cancer survivors. Surviving stage IV lymphoma through the various treatments and long-term effects is an impressive and statistically unlikely event given his response to the treatment and options. However, it's the forty-seven-year survival, career pivot working thirty-two years as a nurse in cancer services, and his daughter also battling cancer at a young age that truly set this read apart from the rest. The brutal honesty about his thoughts, psychological well-being, and treatment effects, open readers' eyes to the gut-wrenching diagnosis of cancer and the guilt and responsibility that are placed on patient's shoulders.
But the ongoing life he lives, dedication to the field of nursing in the same hospitals that treated him, and the comfort he found in Hawkwind and the Lakota Sioux Nation all these years later makes this a memorable read even after the last page is turned.
Black Tie Magazine, February, 2024.
Written by John Walker Pattison, 'Me and My Shadow' is as awe-inspiring as it is unbelievable. Diagnosed with cancer at a young age, the author was told he wouldn't live to see his hair turn grey. Defying those odds, the author is now not only a survivor but a grandfather.
In this gripping memoir, Pattison shares his extraordinary battle with cancer, how he found solace in spirituality and space rock and the journey to becoming one of the UK's longest-surviving cancer patients.
The memoir takes the reader through the tumultuous years of Pattison's youth, marked by aggressive chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments that tested the limits of his endurance, to a staggering blow that he never saw coming - the heart-wrenching moment when his daughter was diagnosed with terminal leukaemia, and like her father, defied the odds.
A rare glimpse into the emotional and physical trials of cancer 'Me and My Shadow' is filled with raw honesty and is a true testament to Pattison's life-long commitment to helping others fighting
similar battles.
The Reading Bud (Heena R. Pardeshi) February 2nd 2023 (Five stars)
Me and My Shadow: Memoirs of a Cancer Survivor by John Walker Pattison is a gut-wrenching, eye-opening and heart-melting read from the author who shares his experience of not only living with cancer but also overcoming it, having been through seeing his daughter having it and seeing her overcome it. This book is an emotional roller-coaster of ups and downs that the author had experienced throughout his life, since his teenage years when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
This book serves as s tremendous source of information and inspiration because it has a lot to offer to all its readers. The emotional turmoil in the book conveys the hardships and predicaments that the author had to suffer many times in his life and makes the readers connect with the author on completely another level.
This book would be best for anyone suffering from cancer or any other terminal illness, a survivor of one, or the family member of anyone suffering from a terminal illness or anyone really who wants to read about how it feels to be stuck in such a situation and yet not to lose hope and in fact come out of it stronger. Really, everyone should give this book a read as there are so many takeaways for each reader in this book.
From the Author
Me and My Shadow - memoirs of a cancer survivor shares your story of battling cancer, your daughter's diagnosis and treatment, and your decision to become a cancer nurse helping others. Why was this an important book for you to write?
Scarily, one in two of the population will be given a cancer diagnosis at some point in their lives and it remains the greatest fear in society. So, at the risk of sounding contrite (that is definitely not my intention) I wanted to give something back to society - to deliver a meaningful book that would help cancer patients and their loved ones.
I decided that if this piece of work was to achieve its objectives, then it had to be written from three perspectives in order that it would be different from any other survivorship chronicle. Firstly, my experience as an immature adolescent facing the turmoil of both the physical and psychological battle with cancer. This was then followed by the unimaginable trauma of having to confront and accept a cancer diagnosis of my four-year-old daughter and watch helplessly as she underwent chemotherapy, followed by the emotional journey of her terminal diagnosis. Third, I wanted this to provide an educational angle for healthcare professionals working in the challenging field of cancer services. Sadly, at the risk of sounding critical, there are nurses (and some in senior positions) who do not understand the psychological impact of a cancer diagnosis - I have witnessed this with my own eyes during my working career in cancer nursing.
I never intended to 'just write my story;' it had to have meaning and provide inspiration to not just the cancer patients themselves, but also their loved ones who are often left out of the cancer equation. Like me, they will need inspiration.
Moreover, I felt this would be a cathartic experience and would eliminate once and for all the demons that lurked in the canyons of my mind. Sadly, it failed to do that.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
Everything, it had to be warts and all if it was going to have an impact. It was, however, important to include some humour along the way. Sadly, you cannot sugar-coat a cancer diagnosis, and although the treatments we deliver today are very different from the treatments I received in the seventies - today, we use less traditional chemotherapy and use more immunotherapies, immunomodulatory drugs, monoclonal antibodies, and a few vaccines, making them less aggressive by way of side effects. Nonetheless, cancer instills fear and like I did, everyone needs inspiration.
I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
As you would expect, recalling and writing about my daughter's diagnosis, treatment, and then being told that she would not survive, brought about some chilling memories. I requested access to my medical records, and I was fortunate enough to be given that access. I needed that information to ensure I got the correct chronological order of the treatments, but paradoxically I wanted to confirm the actual terminal nature of my disease. So reading that did hit me very hard, even though I knew my own story - seeing it written in a legally binding document confirmed to me how fortunate I am. But, to be honest, even today, my cup is often half empty. I am burdened with several health-related issues (all as a consequence of the salubrious chemotherapy and radiotherapy I received almost fifty years ago), including another cancer battle, and I cannot help but wonder where my health will take me, luckily, my wife is constantly topping up my cup to make me realise how fortunate I am. 'If you are fortunate enough to survive a cancer diagnosis, that legacy lives with you forever.'
What is one thing you hope readers take away from your story?
Undoubtedly inspiration - Me and My Shadow - memoirs of a cancer survivor is not a prescriptive guide in respect of how to deal with a cancer diagnosis - no such prescription exists. However, I would say to readers, take from my book whatever you can, hopefully, hope and inspiration, but feel free to criticise where you feel is appropriate because the cancer experience is an individual one and we all cope in different ways.
Finally, I would like to share a few words from the final chapter of my book. 'Life is not a rehearsal - it is for living, a once-only opportunity to enjoy. Our future is uncertain; no one knows what lies ahead, what fate has planned. Never look back on your life unless you are prepared to smile and be reflective, never look forward unless you can dream-we all need dreams and we all need hope.'
From the Back Cover
'Me and My Shadow - memoirs of a cancer survivor,' is a brutally honest account of one teenager's struggle to understand and deal with the most feared diagnosis known to society: cancer. At the same time, it is an inspirational chronicle like no other - winning third place at the New York Book Fair Awards 2023.
At eighteen years of age, John Walker Pattison was thrust onto a roller coaster ride of emotional turbulence - his innocence cruelly stripped from him; his fate woven into the tapestry of life.
After years of failed chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments that ravaged his physical frame and almost destroyed his psychological stability - eventually, his parents were told that he would not survive. Yet, today, he is one of the longest cancer survivors in the UK.
Eight years after his unexpected recovery, the news that all parents fear, his four-year-old daughter is diagnosed with terminal leukaemia. Yet like her father, she too would defy the odds, going on to become an international swimmer.
Pattison turned his life full circle and became a cancer nurse specialist at the same hospital that made his diagnosis decades earlier. He prescribes chemotherapy and cares for individuals with the same cancers experienced by both him and his daughter.
Throughout his journey, Pattison's inspirations were the space rock legends, Hawkwind. He would get to play on stage with his heroes at the Donnington Festival in 2007.
More significantly, he found solace throughout his cancer journey in the history and spirituality of the Lakota Sioux Nation. In 2018, he would spend time on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation with the indigenous people of South Dakota - the same people who, unknowingly, supported him through life's greatest challenge: cancer.
About the Author
John Walker Pattison was born on Monday, 4th February 1957 to parents John and Ruby. He has lived most of his years in the wonderful seaside town of South Shields, and enjoyed an uneventful, but happy childhood, and he loved to seek out trouble.
Today, Pattison enjoys being the practical joker, especially with his grandchildren. He openly admits to spending his school days clowning around, and neglected his intellectual chemistry, subsequently leaving school with a handful of worthless qualifications.
In 1973, he started work in a local shipyard until the spectre of cancer gripped his future in a deathly stranglehold. What happened next is his unique story, his Memoirs of a Cancer Survivor.
