The Book

Above is a picture of a printed copy of the first edition of Stand with Cathy book. I have recently released a second edition (as of March 2014), which differs from the first in that it is smaller and thicker, and it has a tiny epilogue to report the birth of our first child. Oh yes, and I corrected one error in it.

The most important question, of course, is how you can get a copy — because all proceeds will go toward breast cancer research. There are many ways, including the following:

• To order a paperback copy online, click here.
• To get an eBook version, click here.
• To get the iBook version from iTunes (for the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch), click here.
• To get the Nook version, click here, or search for “Stand with Cathy” on your Nook.
• For a tiny sample of the book, click here.

*All of the author’s profit from the sales of this book will be donated to the “Susan G. Komen for the Cure” foundation for breast cancer research.

What It’s About

In case you’re not familiar with our story, this book is an account (from my point of view) of my wife Cathy’s battle with cancer. It’s about how our community came together to sustain us by raising over $65,000 to help pay for Cathy’s treatment and by providing a place for us to stay when we were effectively evicted from our apartment. It is a testimony about the power of love and grace in the midst of hardship.

Here is the cover: (Click to enlarge.)

The final draft of this memoir was completed on December 22, 2011. It is intended to serve the following purposes:

1. It is a testimony to the power of community, the love of the church, and the grace of God that sustained us through hard times.
2. It is an offering of gratitude to all of you who supported us in so many ways.
3. It is a fundraiser — this time not for us, but for cancer research and related benefits. All proceeds from book sales will be donated to the Komen Foundation.

Praise for Stand with Cathy

Never one to shy away from tooting my own horn, I have decided to share some of the quotable feedback that I have received. (So far, this is not an exercise in deception by the omission of negative feedback — and hopefully it never will be. All comments I have received are included below.) Of course, these comments were all made by friends and relatives, but they are sincere reactions to the book nonetheless. (I have not asked for permission to identify any of them, so I will not give their names, except for the pseudonym of one of the people who is mentioned in the book.)

“A beautiful story and well-told.”

“I finally made time to sit down and read Stand with Cathy. You did such a great job! I can honestly say that it made me both laugh and cry. I’m so glad that you guys are out of the storm, and I pray that you never have to endure such fear, pain, frustration, and stress again. Life is indeed a team sport.”

“Received and read your book through in one sitting. I really enjoyed it. I had forgotten how much I miss your way of saying things. Thank you for sharing your story with the world.”

“Thanks for the book Stand with Cathy. I finished reading it. It’s very touching and at the same time inspiring.”

“I just finished reading your book! Excellent job!”

“You misquoted me! I told [Marcus] that he should take a writing class, not a running class. Now everyone that reads your book will think Craig isn’t funny at all.”  –‘Craig’ (one of the people in the book)**

Errata

Below is a list of corrections to errors that have been found in the book. Hopefully this section won’t grow too long. In some cases in the book, I recount dialogue, which I of course cannot claim to remember exactly word-for-word. I have tried to recount everything as accurately as possible, and for the dialogue especially I relied on notes that I wrote shortly after the events took place.

1. **On page 103 in the first edition, Craig should be quoted as saying, “Take a writing class or something,” rather than, “Take a running class or something.” At the time, I thought I heard him say “running.” It might have been because I had just been talking to a neighbor who was on the track team at Rice University. In any case, “writing” makes a lot more sense.

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