WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A KICK-ASS FAIRY? Looking for a fairy tale to make into a musical? Look somewhere else. Linda Zercoe offers up a series of unfortunate events in a memoir that rivals the stories of the Brothers Grimm. Life can be capricious and cruel. In this memoir, the author-heroine faces family tragedy and battles multiple forms of cancer. Through one trial after another, Zercoe learns to harness her talents and powers and develop the strength, gumption and resilience to make a life worth living. Attitude is a potent charm against all forms of adversity, and this particular kick-ass fairy proves it's not what you've got, but what you do with it that counts.Reviews"An incredibly moving memoir. Linda Zercoe's book forces us to travel to an intimate and sometimes terrifying world of cancer - but never allows us to lose hope."--SIDDHARTHA MUKHERJEE, M.D., assistant professor of medicine, oncologist and researcher at Columbia University Medical Center, NY; author of The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction."This book will give you a glimpse of what it's like to be affected by cancer and make you aware of how much more needs to be done to support patients and families with cancer and inherited malignancies."--MARGARET A. TEMPERO, M.D., Director, UCSF Pancreas Center; Leader, Pancreas Center Program; Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, UCSF; The Rombauer Family Distinguished Professorship in Pancreas Cancer Clinical and Translational Science"Into each life some suffering comes, but Linda Zercoe has faced with bravery and hope more than her share, leaving the rest of us an awe-inspiring journey of perseverance and grit."--KEN BURNS, Award-winning filmmaker of historical documentaries including The Civil War, The Brooklyn Bridge, The Dust Bowl, Baseball. One of his current projects is a six-part series, Cancer: The Emperor of all Maladies coming to PBS in Spring 2015."Linda Zercoe describes herself as a cancerian and a Cancer Warrior and in her memoir, it becomes clear why these are fitting designations for a woman with a hard shell who is soft inside, like her astrological symbol."--JEAN SHINODA BOLEN, M.D., author of Close to the Bone: Life Threatening Illness as a Soul Journey"I have learned that there is survival behavior and that a patient who exceeds expectations is not just lucky but has induced the changes and the behavior which led to their survival. Being a good patient means being a submissive sufferer and Linda is what I call a 'respant' or responsible participant who can be a life coach for us all."--BERNIE SIEGEL, M.D., author of A Book of Miracles and Faith, Hope & Healing