A debut collection of poetry and essays that follows the healing
journey of a Black cancer patient who faces medical racism after
being diagnosed with leukemia in their early twenties.
When Walela is diagnosed at twenty-three with advanced stage blood
cancer, they’re suddenly thrust into the unsympathetic world of
tubes and pills, doctors who don’t use their correct pronouns, and
hordes of “well-meaning” but patronizing people as they try to
raise funds online. But Walela’s diagnosis also becomes a catalyst
for their self-realization.
As they fill out forms in the Medicaid office in downtown Los Angeles
or travel to therapy in the wealthy part of town, it becomes clear
that cancer is where all forms of their oppression intersect:
Disabled. Fat. Black. Queer. Nonbinary.
In the tradition of Audre Lorde’s The Cancer Journals, the
author details a galvanizing account of their survival despite
America’s medical system, and of the struggle to face death
unafraid.
