Review by Dman_1996 -- Dying Well by Susan Ducharme Hoben

[Damian Keyes]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Dying Well" by Susan Ducharme Hoben.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Dying Well: Our Journey of Love and Loss is a memoir that’s written by Susan Ducharme Hoben. This book documents how Susan dealt with her husband, Bruce, in his last 9 months of living, before his death with cancer. Susan’s and Bruce's forty-six years of marriage is put in jeopardy of being torn apart by this terminal illness, so they both decide to handle this diagnosis up-front, by celebrating every day as if it’s the last.

Susan is no stranger to cancer; at the beginning of the book we find out that she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003. With lots of rehab and support from Bruce and their kids, Sasha and Justin, Susan was able to defeat cancer. Susan discusses how important it was for her to celebrate a feat like that by hosting an annual Celebration of Life Party to commemorate her beating cancer. Almost 10 years later, Susan was highly surprised when she learned that Bruce - a fit and healthy individual - was diagnosed with stomach cancer.

Susan wanted to do everything to help her husband, so she did endless research on stomach cancer. She even became his caretaker by making sure he took his medications, made his doctor appointments, and helped him with anything physical. Bruce has gotten rid of the benign cancer cells in his stomach, but another doctor visit showed that there were some hidden cancer cells and tumors that eventually lead to Bruce’s stage 4 cancer diagnosis. Not wanting to do chemotherapy or radiation, Bruce wanted to live the rest of his life having fun instead of getting sicker from the treatments.

The rest of the book follows the days, weeks, and months leading up to Bruce’s death. Susan planned to make Bruce's last moments in life to be filled with love from family and friends. The Hoben family stuck close together during this time, they went on many vacations, kept in constant communication, and mini-reunions with people from Bruce's past. In the end, Bruce left the world like the way he wanted to and that was dying at home while being surrounded by the people he loves.

I rate this book a 4 out of 4. I really like this book and the inspiration it gives to people who are dealing with a terminal illness. The exact dates that the author uses to show how fast Bruce’s health deteriorated was surreal to read. That’s why I think people who are going through a similar situation to what Bruce and Susan have encountered would enjoy this book. This book gives detailed information about the types of drugs or surgeries that can be used to aid in feeling much better physically, mentally, and emotionally. It also shows you the negative side effects of someone with cancer, as the author explains through firsthand knowledge. I would not recommend this book to people if they want to read something that is humorous and comedic, because this is not that type of book.

This book only had one spelling and one grammar error that I’ve noticed. There was only one profane word that was used, but it was used in a statement about the cancer Bruce was battling, rather than in a negative way. And, there was no sexual content in this book. People who are 18 years and older should read this book. The biggest takeaway from this book is for people to learn that life should be lived to the fullest and to make the most out of it because you’ll never know what could happen.

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Dying Well
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