There was a big gap in time from the point where I joined the library waiting list and when the book finally made its way to me.

I opened Kelly Corrigan's The Middle Place expecting fiction and discovered not only a memoir, but a cancer memoir. I read a few pages and committed to the book, pulled in by the friendly, open manner of the author.

Corrigan was raised in a family of storytellers and became a columnist in San Francisco. The book progresses with a format of alternating chapters, taking readers through the diagnosis and treatment of her cancer, and reflections on her life and family, most notably her charming father, George--aka 'Greenie.'

The author comes to realize that prior to this, she'd been living in what she identifies as 'the middle place,' a state where, although she was a wife and mother, she wasn't quite a full adult. The thought of losing her father prompts her to grow up and find the best medical care for him while she is dealing with her own course of treatment.

There's crisis, and then there's CRISIS--the Corrigan family must have felt like they were under attack, but how they choose to live is quite the illustration of resiliency and perseverance.