In this collection of first-person accounts, doctor and author Siegel (Love, Medicine, and Miracles) brings together almost three dozen cancer patients (or close relations of) to share their stories and the lessons they've learned. Many entries tackle the moment of diagnosis (the first, from survivor Angela Passidomo Trafford, opens with the line, "How many times do I have to have cancer?!"), while others pick up at the moment the diagnosis first hits home; still others focus on the end, like Ann Martin Bowler, whose sick brother passed days after a reinvigorating near-death experience. Lynn Zeller contributes a list of the "eight practices" she discovered through cancer that have led to a "wonderfully expanded experience of life" (including a focus on gratitude, mindfulness, and the idea that the universe "is in a conspiracy for my good"); Edwina Ford focuses on her afflicted husband's admiration, and efforts on behalf, of Lance Armstrong's post-surgery Tour de France comeback. For each piece, Siegel provides a reflection and a moral ("Life's difficulties are what teach us to grow") that clarify and encourage. Anyone struggling with cancer will find many relatable voices and, in Siegel, a compassionate expert commentator.