What I Learned from Interviewing People About Cancer Survival and Loss

by Rebecca W. Munn

I have actually always had a dream of writing a book.

I kept journals during my early adult years to help me process life. I was able to write white papers and co-authored a handbook early on in my career.

My journal writing continued as I faced walking the end of life path with my mother who had terminal cancer, while I was learning to live a life as a divorced mother of two children. I shared my nuggets of wisdom I gained through those gut-wrenching years with my friends, who encouraged me to write a book.

While it took me ten years to succeed in my dream, I did publish my first book in 2017, called the Gift of Goodbye: A Story of Agape Love. My goal with writing is to help others, and to demystify seemingly taboo topics such as death and cancer.

Why I Decided to Write a Book About Cancer

I was actually working on a different manuscript for my 2nd book in November of 2017 when the idea came to me to write this book, similar to how Elizabeth Gilbert talks about ideas being birthed in Big Magic.

I had just learned of my friend Melissa’s cancer diagnosis, stage IV colon cancer. She was a mother of three children and in her early forties. I was heartbroken and praying for guidance and grace.

It was as if the idea was planted in my mind as I sat quiet in my house. An idea that I could be helpful to so many if I was to capture many stories of cancer survival and loss. I developed tips and tricks through two cancer experiences with my mother and believed I would learn of other advice if I were to ask.

Writing Helps Me Process Life Events

Writing helped me process life events early in my adult life, kind of a way to talk to myself on the written page.

I have found writing to be a therapeutic output for my thoughts and ideas and I believe I can help others through writing. The written word is something that others can consume in their own time, and with my type of writing, it is fairly timeless.

What I Learned from Interviewing People About Cancer Survival and Loss

While my first book took ten years to write, this book actually took just over a year. The process flowed effortlessly, from idea to publishing.

Through my friend circle and with my friend Robyn’s help, I found 18 willing participants, again fairly easily. My main experience during the writing process was compassion, as I heard each person’s story and brought it to live through my writing.

Tears poured down my cheeks more times than not. Each individual was vulnerable and authentic, sharing a piece of their heart with me. When it came to submitting my manuscript for publishing, it was greenlighted for publishing on the first submission.

[The main thing I learned from writing the book]:

Grief is not a season or something that will pass. The loss of a loved one leaves a deep hole in the person’s life. And it is not a hole that can be patched or fixed; only time will provide the grace to ease the burden.

And grief has its own time table, will show up when you least expect it.

Writing About the Experiences of Others Helped Me Develop New Understanding

Through writing this book, I feel more compassionate towards the struggle that is inherent in a cancer diagnosis.

Writing about experiences of others helped me develop a different type of understanding than I had through experiencing my mother’s two different cancer diagnoses. The struggle is real for sure when you are facing the diagnosis, and deeply impacting those around you.

During this past year while I was finalizing the manuscript, I learned of a close friend’s cancer diagnosis. This experience has changed how I show up for him and I have followed the advice from several of the stories, such as mailing cards, sending inspirational texts.

The book comes out September 1, 2020. I have been pleasantly surprised by the positive book reviews I have received. I have included excerpts below. It brings me such joy to have others experience the book as I envisioned it!

“What sets this volume apart from other cancer accounts is that it includes the stories of those who did not survive, told from the perspectives of their loved ones. Because of this, the book succeeds in demystifying the experience of having cancer or loving someone who does.” —Kirkus Reviews

“There is untold wisdom in each point of view… All of Us Warriors includes twenty stories of survival and loss, in the words of everyday people, putting a realistic face on cancer.” —4-star Foreword Reviews

What I Hope Readers Get from This Book

  1. Advice regarding how to approach someone you love or know who is facing a cancer diagnosis.
  2. Tips and tricks to help others feel joy in the midst of pain.
  3. That cancer is a season of life, it does not define the person.

Read Rebecca’s previous post for Writing and Wellness here.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels.

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Rebecca Whitehead Munn is an award-winning author and speaker, healthcare change catalyst, and value creator. All of Us Warriors is her second title, following her award-winning, debut memoir, The Gift of Goodbye: A Story of Agape Love released in 2017.

She has been a featured Maria Shriver Architect of Change on surviving grief and shared her healing through yoga story at www.mindbodygreen.com. She is a certified End of Life Doula, certified in Positive Psychology, and a Nashville Healthcare Council Fellow.

She is happiest spending time outdoors, spending time with her two children, eating Mexican food, practicing yoga, listening to live music, and using her chaotic Aries energy for good. She was born in Bloomington, IN, grew up in Houston, TX, and has lived in Nashville, TN, since 2005.

To learn more, visit her website, or connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.


All of Us Warriors: Rebecca Whitehead Munn paints a realistic picture of the impact cancer has on an individual’s life, and she attempts to demystify the experience by sharing heartfelt stories from twenty survivors and the loved ones of those that passed.

They are mothers and fathers with seven types of cancers and all stages of the disease, as well as advice regarding how to approach someone you love living with cancer and tips and tricks for helping others feel joy in the midst of pain.

This inspirational book provides a positive outlook of strength and perseverance through belief in a higher power, reinforcing the idea that the reader is stronger than cancer and not alone, and offering real strategies that cannot be found in online medical sites. Like a conversation with a new best friend (or twenty of them), All of Us Warriors is full of understanding, acceptance, and practical advice gained from personal experience.

Available at Amazon and IndieBound.