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Description:
When she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2007, Deborah Masel’s life collapsed. Two and a half years later, her struggle to find meaning in the shadowy world of terminal disease induced her to write not only of her cancer experience, but of threads from the past that were woven into the fabric of this “final curtain.” In her search for comfort and meaning, Deborah found that the world of cancer was dominated by stories of physical survival, which was assumed to constitute “victory.” Yet her most treasured teacher, a Torah scholar who had perished in the Holocaust, had awakened her, through the text he left behind, to the meaning of spiritual victory. If he could keep his disciples focused on God while the Nazis brutalized and dehumanized them, surely she could stay focused and not panic even when the cancer threatened to devour her. Her challenge was to accept the fact of death without losing her love for this dappled world and for the glory of its passing days.

Reviews:
'This is an extraordinary spiritual memoir of one woman’s struggle with life and death. Debbie Masel writes of her life with cancer with a rare and passionate truthfulness,in which fear, pain, humor and a profound engagement with her Jewish faith all find their place. The rich humanity of her writing makes for compelling reading.'
Dr. Avivah Zornberg
Renowned biblical scholar, writer, and lecturer

'I know it will mean a lot – as much as a book can mean – to a lot of people.'
Professor James Kugel
Professor Emeritus of Classical and Modern Hebrew Literature, Harvard
University Chair, Institute for the History of the Jewish Bible, Bar-Ilan University

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