Testimonials for Birding Through Cancer
Comments from Readers
“I read your book cover to cover yesterday and was so touched and thankful for your willingness to expose the hardship that is chronic illness. I interned last year on the hematology oncology service at The Perelman Center, working closely with patients and their families undergoing the process of stem cell and bone marrow transplants. I feel that it prepared me for my time of fall and winter now, as I have been experiencing acute hardship with my illness for the past 2 months. Like what you so beautiful wrote, God prepares us for everything. Newly attuned to the metaphors in life and relationship, a hummingbird appeared just now at my window!!! I immediately looked up its symbolic meaning: joy, playfulness, adaptability —The perfect message for me to keep the faith! ”
“Karin Marcus’ book is an enlightened and enlightening guide to moving through the changes that the diagnosis of cancer brings into your life. I know this because just before she released her memoir, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I recognized much of my own responses in the thoughts, feelings and actions she described in the book’s early chapters. The rest of the book serves as a guide for me as I progress through treatment and recovery.
The timing of this book’s release is a blessing for me. It is a welcome and calming resource as I move through this cycle of change. I am further blessed by having been a student in the Seasons of Change course Karin mentions in her book. It’s the course she was in the midst of teaching when she learned of her own cancer. I remember very well how Carol took over for a few weeks, and how Karin used her experience as an immediate example of applying the guidance offered by the Seasons of Change model during an unexpected and very difficult life transition. This is a wonderful book for anyone wishing to better support someone with cancer, or to best navigate their own experience with it. I highly recommend it.”
“Thank you for sharing you journey through cancer. Wow! What a gift! And not just for those journeying through cancer. The bounty of wisdom is valuable for all.
As I read through your story initially, I started making mental notes of places to which I wanted to return then eventually realized that this was a book not just for reading but for doing.
I admire your generosity of spirit in sharing your soul. Glad you did. The healing effect of your courage will be far reaching. May you continue to grow in health and may your book be received with gratitude by many.
P.S. Hat’s off to your photographers. Every bird’s a sweet reading companion along the way. :-)”
“I so loved your book. Started reading and couldn’t stop. Sharing your relationship with that event in your life was like taking a walk through a nature reserve with you and turning upward, downward, to the left and the right, seeing one example of God’s love after another—in all the Wisdom (from the love of the heart) that’s shared in the book along the way through the pages—in the sensitive quotations and in your reflections.”
Comments from Colleagues
“Among the many books I have read about the Cancer experience, Birding Through Cancer is completely unique. Karin Marcus walks a path through the challenges of life-threatening illness with the sensitive eye of an expert bird watcher and the wise perspective of a seasoned Life Coach. She has filled her book with wonderful quotes and exquisite pictures of the creatures of the sky. The outcome is a one of a kind book which is a passionate celebration of the love of life that is the foundation of all healing. It will inspire you.”
“In this book, Karin talks about a most painful and difficult process - truly a life and death issue for so many - and yet her words find a way to fly like the birds in beauty and synchronicity. She offers a gentle and beautiful flight path through intense fear and the often scientific anonymity of medicine by revealing her day-to-day experience of her loving and trusting relationship with the natural world. Read and replenish your soul - and find you own Way through those challenges that feel like a threat to your essential being.”
“While very personal, this book deals with universal themes. Life is a journey, and a life enriched by birds is an adventure, is a life worth living and nurturing.”
“Sadly all of us are touched in some way by cancer - ourselves, a family member, a friend, a co-worker. Birding Through Cancer is written by a person that is touched by cancer in the most personal of ways. Everyone deals with this disease in their own way. The way Karin Marcus dealt with her cancer was by immersing herself in another world that we are all surrounded by, but too few of us pay attention to - the world of birds. Karin found peace, inspiration, connection and healing through these feathered bundles of joy and energy. All who read this most special book will be inspired to look at this disease, as well as the wonders of Nature found in our feathered neighbors, with new eyes. ”
“Inspiring. Poignant. Full of hope! In Birding through Cancer: A Seasons of Change Journey, Karin Marcus shares her healing journey through beautifully told personal stories, well-chosen quotes, and life-affirming metaphors. Her story will ground you in the rich wisdom nature provides when you pay close attention to what is happening around you and will show you how to glean personal insights from your interactions with the natural world. Reading Karin’s story will open a path to restoring vitality in your life—no matter what you are healing from.”