{"product_id":"diary-of-a-cockeyed-optimist","title":"Diary of a Cockeyed Optimist - PRE-ORDER","description":"\u003ch2\u003e\u003cem\u003eAvailable January 2027\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"h:I-m-living-the-life-of-my-dreams-but-it-took-a-devastating-diagnosis-to-realize-I-deserved-to-\" class=\"page-anchor\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bold\"\u003eI'm living the life of my dreams, but it took a devastating diagnosis to realize I deserved to.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"text-italic\"\u003eDiary of a Cockeyed Optimist\u003c\/span\u003e is the scary, ridiculous, frustrating, funny, painful, and surprisingly joyful story of how I got from there to here.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"h:The-Appointment-That-Saved-My-Life\" class=\"page-anchor\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bold\"\u003eThe Appointment That Saved My Life\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn August 2020, I went in for my first mammogram. I was fifty, and I was already overdue to check that box. That was all it was: something I was “supposed” to do.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen I got the call. They wanted to do an ultrasound.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen a biopsy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen…cancer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI didn't want to think I was a warrior. Except I was, because I fought. I fought to keep my spirits up, to keep my joy intact, to keep the fear at bay.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSometimes I succeeded. And others, I didn't.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"template asset\" data-alt-text=\"\" data-caption=\"\" data-id=\"54789248\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOver the months that followed, through surgeries and chemotherapy, wigs and fear, gratitude and anger, I made choices both large and small to stop waiting and start living.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLots of people say cancer is a gift, and I’m one of them. But it’s one of those gifts you never ever EVER want to receive. It’s a gift you want to chuck in a bucket, light the bucket on fire, and shoot it out of a cannon so far into the stratosphere there’s no chance it will ever come back down.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnfortunately, there’s no return-to-sender. That “gift” gave me the hardest year of my life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd then some.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"h:Cancer-Is-the-Canvas-Not-the-Picture\" class=\"page-anchor\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bold\"\u003eCancer Is the Canvas, Not the Picture\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"text-italic\"\u003eDiary of a Cockeyed Optimist\u003c\/span\u003e isn’t a cancer memoir. Cancer is the canvas, not the picture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI was terrified and grateful at the same time: terrified by the diagnosis, and grateful my first mammogram had done exactly what it was supposed to do. I let myself feel all of it without forcing gratitude, pretending everything was wonderful, or rushing to find a bright side before I was ready.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI looked directly at fear, anger, uncertainty, and disappointment and still believed life could hold meaning, possibility, laughter, and joy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"h:From-Diary-to-Memoir\" class=\"page-anchor\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bold\"\u003eFrom Diary to Memoir\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy diagnosis arrived in the middle of the pandemic, and because I’m a writer, I wrote about it. I shared the appointments and decisions, the fear and hope, the absurdity and anger, and the unexpected moments of beauty.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the biopsy to shaving our heads live and creating the 12 Wigs of Christmas, friends, family, and readers came along for the ride. Their support was the true gift, and one person after another told me, “You should put these in a book.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow, six years after my diagnosis, I’m finally doing exactly that.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"text-italic\"\u003eDiary of a Cockeyed Optimist \u003c\/span\u003egrew from the essays and journal entries I wrote while I was living through breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and beyond. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/theresasbooks.com\/pages\/read-an-excerpt-from-diary-of-a-cockeyed-optimist\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"text-italic\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bold\"\u003eYou can read a sample here.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan class=\"text-italic\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bold\"\u003eAvailable Formats\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan class=\"text-italic\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bold\"\u003eSpecial Edition Hardcover\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"text-italic\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bold\"\u003eThe special edition hardcover includes \u003cspan\u003efull-color photos, a dust jacket, endbands, ribbon, and sprayed edges. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan class=\"text-italic\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bold\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePaperback\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"text-italic\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bold\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe autographed paperback copy of Diary of a Cockeyed Optimist: A Memoir, includes color photos.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan class=\"text-italic\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bold\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eE-Book\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"text-italic\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bold\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe complete digital edition of Diary of a Cockeyed Optimist: A Memoir, includes full-color photos.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Theresa L. Goodrich","offers":[{"title":"Special Edition Hardcover - Autographed","offer_id":67601417371784,"sku":null,"price":59.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback - Autographed","offer_id":67601417339016,"sku":"diary-p","price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"E-book","offer_id":67601417306248,"sku":"diary-e","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0613\/0663\/4376\/files\/DiaryHardbackCover3D.png?v=1790952250","url":"https:\/\/theresasbooks.com\/products\/diary-of-a-cockeyed-optimist","provider":"Theresa's Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}