An inspirational fairy-tale/poetic allegory of Jan Hasak's path through two bouts with breast cancer and lymphedema.
Breast cancer gets a makeover as fairy tale in this inspirational tale. Few words strike more terror into one’s heart than “You have breast cancer.” Yet the author faced that very diagnosis, twice! How did she cope? By picking up pebbles of wisdom like Princess Fanciful did in the fairy-tale world of The Pebble Path.
Following her cancer diagnosis, Fanciful travels down a shadowy path through the forest of treatment. Along the way she expresses her thoughts through poetry. The poems of The Pebble Path allow the reader to contemplate cancer’s multiple facets. Sometimes the poetry is laugh-out-loud boisterous, sometimes meditative. It is always honest.
Since cancer generates emotions that tend toward the universal, The Pebble Path will resonate with any reader whose life has been interrupted by malignancy or who works in a cancer-related field. The ogres, hags and other residents populating the forest of The Pebble Path will fascinate those searching for meaning and humor in their lives.
Excerpt
"We don’t know the circumstances Providence will shower upon us. Neither did Hansel nor his sister Gretel. That tale started when these children overheard their woodcutter father and wicked stepmother discussing the family’s predicament. How the parents would lead them out into the forest the next day to fend for themselves because the household had run out of food. When they grasped the woman’s words, “then we will all four starve; you had better get the coffins ready,” Gretel sobbed. But Hansel would not despair. Resourceful beyond his years, Hansel sneaked out that same night to gather white pebbles to use on the next day’s trip. By scattering the pocketed stones discreetly along the footpath as they trudged through the woods, he later could guide Gretel and himself back home. The trusty flints had glistened in the moonlight like landing lights on an airstrip.
The second time he and Gretel found themselves thrust into the dense brush, however, Hansel had no loyal rocks in his pocket to use as landmarks. The previous evening the stepmother had locked the door so he could not gather them beforehand. All he had to lead him home this time were breadcrumbs he had dropped the length of the trail as they went along. Birds ate up the crumbs, swallowing the siblings’ homeward route. They wandered deeper and farther into the wilderness until they encountered a witch, one with ogre-like intentions. As with most fairy tales, the ending was happy. Yet the children would have avoided a harrowing experience if only Hansel could have repeated the pebble ruse on this second trip.
If cancer has been thrown your way, don’t despair, even if you have lost your bearings for a spell. Grab pebbles of strength, truth, belief, and encouragement to line your pathways through life, to steer you home. As you come upon each rock shining white in the silvery hue of your marathon, view it as a milestone rather than a stumbling block. Never be satisfied with breadcrumbs of untruth or hopelessness tempting you from the sidelines. Ignore them. Let them be devoured. Pick only polished flints as your signposts for gladsome living.
Some folks medicate against cancer and some meditate upon it. This account does both. Survivors can be overcomers with “ever-after” lives, as we shall see…"
Professional Reviews
Sharon Bray
The Pebble Path, by Jan Hasak, did something for me that few books on the topic of cancer do: it made me smile. In an endearing character, Princess Fanciful, we discover a cancer survivor turned heroine. We follow her into the shadowy forest of demons: diagnosis, surgeries, lymphedema, and chemotherapy. Yet, no matter what challenge she encounters, she slays those proverbial dragons with prose and poetry, captivating the reader with her indefatigable spunkiness. Brava to Ms. Hasak, for sharing her journey and touching our hearts. –Sharon Bray, Ed.D., Author of A Healing Journey: Writing Together Through Breast Cancer
Nancy Richards
In The Pebble Path, Jan Hasak gathers up the pebbles she left behind to mark her triumphant journey back home from a nightmare filled with fear, uncertainty, pain and loss. The author weaves together a courageous and unique healing story–part fairy tale, part prose–that will inspire and ring true for many breast cancer survivors. Nancy Richards, author of Heal and Forgive: Forgiveness in the Face of Abuse
Elke Mowers
I loved reading the story. Some of the poems touched me very deeply and made me cry. As a professional I found the work an eye-opener, giving me insight into “things” patients deal with daily before, during and after chemo. I will take what I have learned into my new practice. Elke Mowers, Family Nurse Practitioner at Enloe Regional Cancer Center (Chico, CA) and member, Oncology Nursing Society
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This is a book of free verse poetry that addresses the seven main tests in life and offers some sensible solutions to passing those tests with minimal discomfort.
