Stay With Me: A Couple's Very Public Journey Through HPV Cancer
Hardcover, 288 pages. When award-winning author and legendary journalist Mikal Gilmore was diagnosed with HPV tongue and throat cancer, his first inclination was to keep the illness private, out of a lifetime fear of the disease and his mother's belief that cancer was a stigma. But Mikal's wife, veteran music publicist Elaine Schock, felt differently: She believed they both needed the support and community of friends-and she recognized speaking publicly might also help others in similar straits. The couple's public journey became a Facebook phenomenon bringing together family, friends, and strangers. Many of their series of honest, raw, loving, funny, and heartrending posts form one of the first major books entirely written as original Facebook posts. The story provides a remarkable personal testimony of one couple's devastating but ultimately life-affirming experience, and is a much-needed survival guide for those struggling with HPV-related cancer. "Grace, strength, and perseverance shine through in this snapshot of a human family dealing with the crazy adversities life throws at us." --Willie Nelson, iconic musician and activist "Cancer can devastate families but we don't always know how much or what daily life is like. It's only reading this that I fully understand Elaine's grit, determination, humor, and grace. Mikal is a hell of a writer. Together they wrote a funny, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting book about love and resilience in their season of cancer." -Toby Keith, Hall of Fame songwriter, and acclaimed singer and entertainer
Hardcover, 288 pages. When award-winning author and legendary journalist Mikal Gilmore was diagnosed with HPV tongue and throat cancer, his first inclination was to keep the illness private, out of a lifetime fear of the disease and his mother's belief that cancer was a stigma. But Mikal's wife, veteran music publicist Elaine Schock, felt differently: She believed they both needed the support and community of friends-and she recognized speaking publicly might also help others in similar straits. The couple's public journey became a Facebook phenomenon bringing together family, friends, and strangers. Many of their series of honest, raw, loving, funny, and heartrending posts form one of the first major books entirely written as original Facebook posts. The story provides a remarkable personal testimony of one couple's devastating but ultimately life-affirming experience, and is a much-needed survival guide for those struggling with HPV-related cancer. "Grace, strength, and perseverance shine through in this snapshot of a human family dealing with the crazy adversities life throws at us." --Willie Nelson, iconic musician and activist "Cancer can devastate families but we don't always know how much or what daily life is like. It's only reading this that I fully understand Elaine's grit, determination, humor, and grace. Mikal is a hell of a writer. Together they wrote a funny, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting book about love and resilience in their season of cancer." -Toby Keith, Hall of Fame songwriter, and acclaimed singer and entertainer
Hardcover, 288 pages. When award-winning author and legendary journalist Mikal Gilmore was diagnosed with HPV tongue and throat cancer, his first inclination was to keep the illness private, out of a lifetime fear of the disease and his mother's belief that cancer was a stigma. But Mikal's wife, veteran music publicist Elaine Schock, felt differently: She believed they both needed the support and community of friends-and she recognized speaking publicly might also help others in similar straits. The couple's public journey became a Facebook phenomenon bringing together family, friends, and strangers. Many of their series of honest, raw, loving, funny, and heartrending posts form one of the first major books entirely written as original Facebook posts. The story provides a remarkable personal testimony of one couple's devastating but ultimately life-affirming experience, and is a much-needed survival guide for those struggling with HPV-related cancer. "Grace, strength, and perseverance shine through in this snapshot of a human family dealing with the crazy adversities life throws at us." --Willie Nelson, iconic musician and activist "Cancer can devastate families but we don't always know how much or what daily life is like. It's only reading this that I fully understand Elaine's grit, determination, humor, and grace. Mikal is a hell of a writer. Together they wrote a funny, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting book about love and resilience in their season of cancer." -Toby Keith, Hall of Fame songwriter, and acclaimed singer and entertainer