Bald in the Land of Big Hair: A True Story

Review of Bald in the Land of Big Hair (a true story) by Joni Rodgers. HarperCollins, 2001. Hardback. 253 pages. ISBN: 0-06-019588-6 Rodgers is the author of two novels, Crazy for Trying, and Sugarland, but has made an impression in the non-fiction field by writing her cancer memoir, and being a keynote speaker for a variety of cancer related organizations. The title is a concise preview of what the reader will encounter. Rodgers is diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at the age of thirty-two, while married and raising two children. "Bald" refers to a side effect of chemotherapy, and "big hair" refers to the styles of the big state of Texas, where over done hair is the norm. Rodgers takes us through the indignities of cancer and the treatments. In doing so, she reaches to the core of her being, without clothing, accessories, and flamboyant hairstyles. Although Rodgers tackles the serious subject of her war against cancer, she does so with humor that will have the reader laughing out loud. Even the chapter titles are funny: "Cleopatra, Queen of Denial" "Hairless in Houston" "Lights, Cancer, Action" Yet the prologue offers great prose: "When tomorrow was still a given and ignorance was still bliss, I was floating along like a paper sailboat on a lazy river, too caught up in my life to know that I was dying. But the day you're diagnosed with cancer, you stop dying and start surviving. You stop living and start staying alive." Anyone who has battled cancer will recognize the truth in this paragraph. Rodgers tells us the truth of her fears, the ugly effects of treatment, and her will to survive. Although cancer is not hilarious, Rodgers makes it sound comical. The dialogue with her husband after she has lost her hair sounds like stuff for a situation comedy: Her husband says of her bald head, "There is no denying how sick you are." Rodger says, "I'm not sick." "You're sick, Joni." "I'm not sick." He says, "You have cancer." Joni replies, "Throw that in my face, why don't you?" The infused humor is refreshing. Rodgers incorporates education within the humor, telling the reader: "In 1994, I was one of about fifty thousand people diagnosed [with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma] and half of us did not live to see the new century. In 2000, more than 62,000 people were told they had lymphoma, even as the overall cancer rate continued a steady decline." She writes, "In the great barnyard of life, cancer is a manure pile. It stinks..." What reader can resist this style of writing: a combination of information and wit? Rodgers also writes of the sexual transformations she experienced along with her husband during and after cancer. She adds the conflicts of her children, who alternate between understanding and indignation. In the chapter "Being a Phoenix" Rodgers tells the reader how she goes on with her life when her cancer goes into remission. The re-growth of her hair seems to be a metaphor for her personal and spiritual growth. Bald in the Land of Big Hair

I have never had cancer or even known someone with the disease, so I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this book -- but I did! What made me appreciate Rodgers' novel was that it wasn't a collection of survivor bromides and platitudes, inspirational quotes, or overused Bible passages. In fact, the author did a fine job explaining her true feelings about all those "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger"-like messages. I also liked the fact that Rodgers doesn't hide the less-than-appealing parts of the disease - vomiting, mouth sores, disappearing toenails - and also addresses more personal matters like her sexuality during the disease's course and relationship with her young children. It was real and uncensored, which gave the book a complete human quality. And, of course, this book was also very funny! Rodgers has a way with words that will have you laughing in spurts throughout the novel.I was never bored reading this book and finished it in less than two days. Aside from being a good read, it also introduced me to the pitfalls of cancer that I never knew about before.

Wow! This is a book that once opened can not be put down. The true story of Joni Rodgers is remarkable on many levels. Her battle with a devastating illness is retold with the greatest humanity. Her humor and keen observation is a testament to the capacity for kindness and strength in the face of the most humbling of circumstances. A must read for anyone interested in the power of the human spirit!

Elizabeth Berg gives this book such an awesome quote on the back jacket that I had to buy and read it--she was right. She says this is "a very important book. It's not only a book about cancer but also a book about how to ground yourself in the life you're living. About how to let go of false concepts of beauty and of self and start living a far richer, truer life than you might ever have imagined. Reading this book is like being given the extraordinary insight that comes with catastrophic illness without having to endure the dieseaase itself. Read it." I couldn't say it better, now that I've read it. This is a really wonderful memoir about life, love, family, and overcoming the bad things life tends to throw your way. I did laugh and I did cry and I will read it again and again.

I laughed and I cried. Although Joni Rodgers cancer experience is the reason for the story, it is not the whole story. This is a book about how one woman and one family dealt with a terrible illness. How they pulled apart and pulled together. How a Mom & Dad lived through one of the scariest of modern America's illnesses. The cancer is there, lurking in the background through the entire book, but the real story is how Joni & Gary brought Malachi and Jerusha into the circle of the illness and made them a part of the healing process. You'll hear the cries of a little girl sitting on the floor outside the bathroom door as her Mother goes through the agony of chemo-aftermath, and you can picture her as she comforts her Mom by holding a wet wash cloth to her burning forehead and becomes part of the healing experience. You can see cancer from a small boys viewpoint as Malachi tells the story of a Prince who goes forth to slay the dragon and find the magic moss which will save the Queen from her terrible sickness. From the initial diagnosis to her fight with God in the shower stall, Joni Rodgers will pull the reader inside the family circle. Your heart will ache with sadness and with joy as she shares the most intimate details of a terrible time. This is a great story. I cried. I laughed. I read it again.