Lost and Found

Finished reading another book -- Alison Winn Scotch's "The Department of Lost and Found." It's a novel about breast cancer. Well, it's a novel about a woman dealing with the affects of breast cancer. I was a little apprehensive about reading this, but it was a good read.

It's the story of Natalie Miller, a 30-year-old senior aide for an up-and-coming New York woman senator (sound familiar? Nah!) when she learns she has breast cancer ... the same day her boyfriend tells her he's seeing someone else and dumps her. While going through chemo and surgery she's got political drama to deal with, being her best friend's maid of honor, and a lot more.

What I liked about the book is that it doesn't really dwell on her cancer. And the parts that do aren't melodramatic or unrealistic. The narrative actuallly takes place between her chemo treatments, so it focuses more on the after effects -- like trying to live your life around the side effects, and how all the downtime and staring at your mortality starts to change your outlook on life and your relationships. And that's what she does. She examines her motives in her work, her relationships with family and especially the men in her life. And she gets a dog (my favorite part of the story).

There were some moments that got me choked up, remembering some of my own feelings in similar circumstances, but really the book is quite hopeful. And there's actually lots to laugh at too. That's surpising, considering Scotch's inspiration for the book was the loss of a good friend to breast cancer. So if you're a survivor -- or know one -- don't be afraid to pick this one up.