First published 2019
Jeannie Gaffigan confronts a brain tumor diagnosis that threatens everything she holds dear. The writer, director, and mother of five children sits in a neurosurgery department wearing star-covered sweats, wondering if she will survive. Her pear-sized tumor brings her life to a sudden stop in 2017. She must navigate difficult conversations with her children while grappling with her own mortality. Bedridden and unable to eat for a month, Gaffigan battles feelings of powerlessness and anger. She struggles to maintain her role as a mother while her body fails her. Through her recovery, she discovers new ways to stay present in daily life. Her journey reveals how family bonds, religious faith, and laughter become tools for healing. Gaffigan shares both the terror and unexpected moments of joy that emerge during medical crisis. She learns to find meaning in vulnerability and dependence on others.
Genres: family, humor, memoir, biography-memoir, health, christian-living
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, vulnerability
320 pages · Hardcover · Grand Central Publishing
Content warnings: medical-trauma