Do you have a 911 list?
“A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked” (Bernard Meltzer) Do you have a 9-11 list? I do. It’s on a pink heart-shaped Post-it note on my computer monitor (in the photo below it’s the second heart from the left). At [...]
Church Girl Gets Tattooed
Not too long ago I wrote a magazine article about Christian tattoos. The Christian community held off the tattoo fad for quite a while with the idea that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, plus there’s that verse in Leviticus 19:28 about not having yourself marked. But that has begun to change. [...]
Good Books on Breast Cancer
A friend just asked me for recommendations for books on breast cancer. Here are my picks: Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book (Susan Love, MD) A good all around manual on breast cancer and treatment. Recommended by my doctors and my surgeon. Just Get Me Through This: The Practical Guide to Breast Cancer (Deborah A. Cohen) [...]
Chemo Chronicles
Want the raw truth about chemo? It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. But maybe that’s because I have an active, and sometimes gory, imagination. As scary as it is to have cancer, it’s almost scarier to face chemo. I’ve blogged before about the terror inherent in the word “cancer,” and I [...]
Top 10 Things that Rock About Being Bald
Being bald as a result of chemo is a shock, I cannot lie. But along the way I’ve discovered a few things that rock about being hairless. Here we go… 1. Showers take 5 minutes. Really. 2. Shaving my legs? Nope. Don’t have to. They are smooth and sleek. 3. Armpits? Ditto. 4. No more [...]
Haunted by the Ghosts of Cancers Past
I am not my father. My cancer is not my father’s cancer. Two very simple statements, but the journey I undertook to be able to say them, and more importantly, to believe them, was perilous. What I didn’t understand when I was diagnosed with breast cancer five months ago is that I would not be [...]
Going commando to church. Do I dare?
I pride myself on being raised a cowgirl. My dad was a Texas cowboy, and he raised my sister and I to wrangle horses, shovel out stalls, throw hay bales, and never mind the dirt or the muck. We got thrown off and got back on, we hopped on our favorite quarter horse and rode [...]
Danger: Tall, Pale, Bald Woman Wielding Power Tools
A few days ago someone said something that shocked me. I wanted to use the leaf blower to do some much needed clean-up on the front porch and someone, trying to talk me out of it, called me “ill.” Shocking. I was appalled. Why? Because I don’t feel ill. I’m not even quite sure exactly [...]
Everyone’s Staring At My Chest
I’ve noticed something strange lately. Everyone’s staring at my chest. It’s not that I’m particularly well endowed, or that I wear those super low v-neck Tshirts hawked by Abercrombie & Fitch. No. It’s because something is missing…and people know it. Three months ago, in early September I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I noticed a [...]
SUSY FLORY is a writer, speaker, and journalist who inspires and challenges women to embrace a life of passion, boldness, & adventure. In your own unique way, YOU can change the world, starting in your own backyard. 
