Everything Must Go

Being told you have cancer is a life-changing event. Rosie Garland, writer and performer, didn't need any tissues when she was told, but later used poetry to come to terms with the disease, treatment and slow recovery. Her account is not at all melodramatic or tearful, but paints vivid pictures, so you can see the waiting room or the ward and feel that you're joining her on this journey. Rosie is a true performer and this shines through in the poems, which have a dynamic and rhythmic beat, especially when things get tough. Most importantly, she shows how any disease - and cancer especially - attacks your humanity and more specifically your femininity. Yet the way she puts this into words is strangely enough also uplifting. You can read each poem on its own, but together they tell the story of a journey.