Life Constricted

About the Book

Cancer is an equal opportunity disease. I have survived three different episodes over the past fourteen years. Strike 1 (1995): One of my radiation oncologists gave me a 50 percent chance of surviving tongue cancer three years disease free. Strike 2 (1997): Neck cancer restarted my recovery clock. Strike 3 (2008): Diagnosed with prostate cancer. Fortunately, Life Constricted isn’t a baseball metaphor. It’s a commentary on a lifelong swimmer and chronicles my family’s struggle with cancer after my dentist detected an abnormality during a routine visit. I owe him and my personal physician my life. They’re the core of my medical dream team. We were forced to retreat from our hurried professional path, typical of twoincome families in the Bay Area. We rearranged our priorities and lived life constricted to pursue its greatest opportunity—love that thrived on hugs, quality time, and laughter. Celebrate our reversal of misfortune. Read Life Constricted.

About the Author

Jim Crow laws didn’t stop my grandfather from teaching me fairness that I fight to pass on to my son in post–civil rights America. And segregated schools enabled my longing for knowledge. Before cancer, I had worked thirteen years as a gas engineer and project manager with a local utility. I volunteered in organizations that supported minority children’s education. After cancer, I was reborn a survivor and a writer. I have tutored in adult literacy for the Oakland Library Second Start program and have taken summer writers’ workshops from Voices of Our Nations Arts that led to a writer’s fellowship from Stanford University’s continuing education program. I once thirsted for external happiness. Now I’m more reflective and patient. But constant low-level background neck pain that intensifies under stress sometimes clouds my judgment while guiding my teenage son toward manhood. My wife, Monica, beams love bright like the North Star and illuminates the way.