CANCER CROSSINGS by Tim Wendel is a memoir that details an important time in cancer research--a time with which the Wendel family was all too familiar as the author's brother, Eric, was diagnosed with leukemia in 1966 at age 3 and given a year to live.

Wendel's book could have been crushingly depressing. Reading about a young boy's efforts to beat a disease that killed 90% of those diagnosed is sure to be heart-wrenching, right? But instead of a sob-fest, it's an interesting look at the doctors who were fighting to keep children alive against all odds, and a nostalgic visit to perhaps the best time to be a kid. Part memoir and part medical mystery, CANCER CROSSINGS shows one family's role as a part of medical history, and it details how they navigated an almost impossibly difficult time by banding together

It would be hard to pick favorite segments of this book. I loved reading about the adventures of the Wendel family as the navigated Lake Ontario on their boat, but I was also fascinated by the doctors and the work they were doing. I wish I had been able to get to know Eric a little more--he's a hazy figure considering that he's the central figure in the book. The photos included were helpful in bringing him into focus, and I found myself staring at the school picture toward the end of the book and wondering about a world where someone so young and so good can die. As noted by one of the people who met the boy before Eric's death at age 10, he deserved a lot better.

Kudos to Tim Wendel for the amount of research that went into this book, and for his willingness to revisit a time that wasn't easy for his family. My thanks to the author and publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. ( )