Kate O’Rourke (“Auntie Cake”) is married to the Canadian writer Michael Bryson, a friend of mine whose story “My Life in Television” was published in Numéro Cinq earlier this year. In September, Kate was diagnosed with cancer. In response, she began this blog. It will break your heart, it will make you stand up and cheer.
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Fighting is my job now – I must often retreat to the core of myself to garner what strength is required to regain citizenship in the kingdom of the well. Usually, that means, to bed, or to rest on a soft surface somewhere. Sometimes it means escape in a Swedish series of books about a crazy lady, or writing this blog, lunching with friends, wrapping Christmas presents to Ella’s Swingin’ Christmas at Volume 11. It also means plugging into machines and swallowing poison, assisting with all manner of broken spirit, and crying. A LOT of crying. Fountains and rivers of liquid salt. It is a job you are not prepared for, in fact, dread. Worse than any mundane task or other related duty as assigned. But life, that unbending and strong coursing river, keeps you moving along. Really, there is no choice. Kind of like blood through your veins.
via Auntie Cake’s Shop.
Thank you for sharing this blog. Kate O’Rourke seems like an amazing human being and shares a great deal of her versatile spirit in so few words. And, I am happy to be introduced to Michael Bryson’s work along the way.
I echo Jodi. Thanks for sharing this.