Most stories about illness end with a person either dying or ringing a bell and walking into the sunset. Suleika Jaouad starts with the bell-ringing and then asks: Now what? She spent her early twenties—the years most people spend figuring out their careers and dating—fighting for her life. When she finally emerges, she's a stranger to herself.
The book is split into two distinct halves. The first is the 'Kingdom of the Sick,' a claustrophobic but deeply moving account of her diagnosis and treatment. It’s based on the column she wrote for The New York Times, so the writing is sharp, professional, and avoids the usual sentimental traps. The second half is the 'Road Trip,' where she takes a scruffy dog named Oscar and travels across the US to meet the people who wrote to her while she was ill.
This isn't just a book for people who have had cancer. It's a book for anyone who has ever felt like an outsider or had to restart their life after a major setback. It’s a great companion to American Symphony, the documentary about her and her husband, Jon Batiste, which covers a later period of their lives. Reading this gives you the foundational story of how she became the person she is today.
If you have a kid who loved The Fault in Our Stars or Five Feet Apart, give them this. It’s the 'real life' version that treats the reader like an adult and doesn't rely on manufactured drama to make its point.
