I Quit is a rallying cry for anyone facing a difficult situation—including two cancer diagnoses—to choose joy and faith and embrace humor to make the best of their experience.
Choose Joy. Choose Faith. And Embrace a Whole Lot of Humor.
There’s more to cancer than chemo and radiation. When she found herself diagnosed with brain cancer for the second time, Kristina Kotlus chose to quit on day one. But rather than meaning she gave up, her quitting meant getting a whole new lease on life. I Quit offers readers a chance to do the same.
Inside, Kristina shares how she survived both diagnoses with the help of her family, friends, and faith in a relatable, funny way from her original diagnosis to finding doctors to telling her kids (hint: make someone else do it). She shares openly and honestly, with just a touch of sarcasm and a heavy dose of humor and faith and encourages readers to decide that it’s time to stand up, wash the tears off their face, and keep going.
I’ve never read a book like this one and even though it is non-fiction, which, honestly, I do not read very often, I could not put it down. The author, Kristina Kotlus, tells of her experience of surviving brain cancer with honesty and humor and sarcasm.
Ms. Kotlus divided the book into two parts: part one is Here’s What We’re Working With and part two is How’d We Get Through This? The first part is her story with the God part deliberately left out so, as she says, it could be read by anyone. But she encourages the reader at the end of the first part to keep reading, to learn the rest of the story, with the God lens applied.
My favorite chapter in this book was the one entitled, My Friend Has Cancer and I Don’t Want to Suck: A General Guide. Here Kristina tells what people said to her and what they shoulda/coulda have said. She also gave examples of what to DO and DO NOT if you want to help someone with cancer (like the one person who showed up unannounced and wanted Kristina woken up so this person could visit with her: BTW that is a DO NOT). Ultimately, Kristina desires to give hope to those dealing with cancer through the telling of her story. It’s not a long book and each chapter is pretty short so you can read it pretty quickly when you just have a few minutes. I so very highly recommend this book as who hasn’t, except for the very young, had a friend or acquaintance or family member have cancer. I received a copy of this book from the author. I am freely writing a review – all thoughts and opinions are my own.
The Author: Kristina Schnack Kotlus is a two-time brain cancer survivor. She has a degree in Comparative Religion from George Mason University by way of Holy Cross College. She was baptized a Lutheran, currently attends an Assemblies of God church, and is married to a non-practicing Jew. Her writing has been published in numerous local magazines and newspapers, as well as on her own website, PwcMoms. Kristina was recognized as Blogger of the Year in Northern Virginia, 40 Under 40 in Northern Virginia, and an Influential Woman in Prince William County. She currently resides in Manassas, Virginia, with her husband and three children, who she homeschools. You can connect with Kristina at her website, https://kristinakotlus.com/
I Quit: Facing Cancer with Faith, Family and Friends by Kristina Schnack Kotlus was released by Morgan James Publishing on February 4, 2020. I Quit—ISBN 9781642795318—has 184 pages and is being sold as a trade paperback for $14.99.
https://www.morgan-james-publishing.com/a-faith-filled-guide-to-coping-with-cancer/
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