Reading time: About 1 minute
This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world to find websites, books and articles to help other writers. Today I discuss an article written by New York Times columnist Susan Gubar.
I had never heard of Susan Gubar before stumbling across a column of hers in the New York Times.
Turns out she is a retired professor of English and Women’s Studies from Indiana University. A trail-blazer, she joined the faculty when she was one of only three women professors among the 70 in the department. (I finished my degree at the University of BC in the then-male-dominated field of political science in 1979 and, later, joined newspaper management. I frequently shared Gubar’s experience of being the only woman in the room.)
Sadly, Susan Gubar was forced to retire as a result of health problems — she was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer in 2008. But her column — titled Living With Cancer — in the Times is remarkable. She is articulate, honest, heart-felt and bracingly cranky.
Perhaps her story spoke to me because I had two aunts who faced breast cancer. Or maybe it’s my own affection for music. But I found her words to be achingly beautiful. I encourage you to take three minutes to read them. And if you’re still interested — whether because of your own connection with cancer or because of the fineness of her writing — here is the link to her entire series.
Me? I’m going to read her book, Memoir of a Debulked Woman.
