Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouab

The allusion in the title is that there are two kingdoms, the kingdom of the well, where many people Ms. Jaouad's age live, and the kingdom of the sick, which is where we are all headed at one point or another. She was diagnosed with an unusually aggressive form of acute myeloid leukemia, which necessitated her spending the early part of her 20's getting chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, interspersed with life-threatening infections and graft versus host disease, which is an inevitable consequence of having someone else's bone marrow fill up your own bones. The replacement is necessary but not without consequences. The author found a voice for herself in the midst of all this misery, sharing her triumphs as well as her woes with a broader audience, first in a blog, then a newspaper column, and then guest appearances on television. Through it all she also found a way to survive, but not how to be grateful for those who sacrificed around her to keep her afloat. It is an excellent read, one with highs and lows, wins and losses, and also her ability to see that there are those worse off than she, which is one of the silver linings that coming out the end of the cancer tunnel alive affords one. This was a bittersweet read for me, as both a survivor of an exceptionally bad cancer as well as the parent of a childhood cancer survivor. I hope that her sharing of her story helps those who come behind her to find their way a bit easier as a result, and I wish her the very best as she continues her journey.