Response to The Thank You Room
“The Thank you Room is a treat, if that can be said about a book told by an author who is a young mother battling cancer. She tells her tale with such self-effacing humor, realism, and honesty, though, that the book is much more uplifting than a reader would expect. Her voice comes through beautifully, which shows confidence as a writer. The structure works well, as her narrative weaves through the people who have helped her on the way. It gives the book touchstones and a focus that keeps the story moving forward, but always keeping the ultimate theme in the readers’ mind. She also manages to convey a lot of medical information without a lot of non-essential or jargon details. On a bigger scale, she does the same for her back story and family life. The reader gets enough information to feel the author is an intimate friend, but isn’t bombarded with extraneous information that would slow the story down.”
Judge, 23rd Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards
Excerpts from Amazon reviews
…it had me in tears one minute and laughing the next.
The Thank You Room was a page-turner and a great uplift. I can’t recommend it enough for anyone who enjoys a good memoir.
You will be inspired after reading this book to live your best life.
I think this book should be read by everyone, not just those that fall under similar circumstances. It brings the reminder that in basic humanity, we all root for each other. We want to win our battles. And we want each other to win theirs.
I love the enduring witness this story creates to faith, family and friendship. In the light of naked honesty we can gain strength and compassion.
You might have to invent an emotion I didn’t feel reading this memoir…this memoir made me feel grateful for my life, but also validated in my loathing of Mondays. Serenity’s unspeakable suffering did not negate my comparably microscopic problems; it made me feel like I could face them, and maybe even find a little bit of grace with which to do so.
Honestly, I loved it…the really good memoirs are the ones where the story sucks you in and the emotions are provided in addition to the actions. Serenity Bohon has succeeded on both counts.
Her ability to tell her story and then step back and give thanks makes a book with excellent pacing. Where it would be so easy for the emotions to be overwhelming, she takes the reader in hand and reminds us of gratitude in all the right places, allowing the reader to take a deep breath before the next emotional ride.
When I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it.
From someone who relates
Your book literally marked the turning point in my life from cancer and despair to cancer with an eye toward survivorship.
-Liz S., Facebook