Before I get into this, I am going to say this right
now, I am going to spoil The Fault in Our Stars if you have yet to read it. I
am also can to say this, Cancer Sucks. It is a horrible disease that painfully
kills the ones it effects. I have seen it's terrible effects on my Granny, who
recently passed away from lung cancer. It is a disease that not only affects
those who are inflicted with it, but the loved ones who have to take care of the one inflicted. In my
case, that was my parents and my uncles. They were there everyday to take care
of their mother and it was painful for them. In a weird way, it was actually
more painful for me to watch my mother suffer than to actually watch my Granny
wither away. She was the one who took care of her and was always by her
side. The sickness of my Granny took its toll on my mother both mentally and
physically. It was so painful to watch her fight the losing battle of saving my
Granny.
I am not the only person I know who has seen the
terrible effects of cancer. I have a good friend whose mother has a brain tumor
and I have other friends with their own stories of cancer. Again, this all
boils down to me saying Cancer Sucks.
That is where a book I
recently picked up and read (in one very emotional sitting) comes into play.
That book was John Green's book The
Fault In Our Stars. I initially picked up this book because I am a big
fan of John Green's work on The Mental Floss website and from other various
sources. Also, my social media blogs are going abuzz about this book. Anyway, I
picked up this book knowing very little about its story, and being proud of
myself for keeping everything in it a mystery. When I opened it, I was
immediately drawn in. The main character, a 16-year-old girl with cancer that affected
her lungs hit home. I know that my Granny wasn't exactly a 16-year-old girl,
but she was still battling cancer. Going through her story was powerful. She
was sick, and she knew she was dying. She hated being the burden on her family
and she hated the boy trying to come into her life. Getting into the character
Hazel Grace was eye opening in a way. I saw into a cancer patient. While I was reading it I wondered if that was what my Granny sometimes felt. That feeling of
inevitability and hopelessness. It came up strong in the character. But through
it all, she was loved and she was capable of loving. She was a strong character
and it always reminded me of my Granny in the suffering of cancer.
Again, I know that their are
obvious differences in the characters or my Granny and Hazel and there is no
way that the loss of teenage years applies to my Granny, but there is common
element of that inevitability of dying. When I first heard of my Granny's
lung cancer diagnosis, I knew that it was going to be the end of her. It hurt
and being close to her, I didn't want her to go. My mom became very close to Granny, almost like a reverse of Hazel and her mother. But when I read this
book, I got a glimpse into a character that I never thought about during that
ordeal, and that was the character of the sufferer. I never thought about what
it was like to have cancer; just that someone I loved very much had cancer.
This story has helped me internally cope with the loss. Seeing into Hazel's minds let
me see that the cancer patient not only knows they are going to face their
inevitability, but in a way they get to be at peace with it. They know that the
more they suffer on earth, the more their loved ones suffer. In seeing those
ideas, it has helped cope with her death more. I understand a little more that
facing the inevitable is a good thing and that life goes on. Just like Hazel's
mother planning to get her masters, my mom planned on resuming and moving on
with life.
And that is what
happened. Me and my brother have gone on and tried to further our life goals.
My mom and dad went on with their lives and preparing for the gift of being a
grandparent. It worked out and I think that by seeing the eyes of a cancer
patient in a story, I understood that my grandmothers dying from cancer is not
the end of her legacy. It will live on in the endeavors of her children and grandchildren;
Just like Augustus lived on in Hazel who will live on in her mother.
And that is a wonderful
thing about fiction, whether it be books, comics, television, or video games.
Fictional character take us out of the world and gives us a chance to connect
with other characters in their struggles. Whether it be in seeing a new point
of view as I experienced in The
Fault In Our Stars or whether it be a number of other examples out
there. LGBT people might have felt a special connection in seeing Buffy The Vampire Slayer introduce
Willow and Tara and given those who have lost a spouse or partner an outlet
when Tara got taken away from Willow. Those suffering from or had a close
friend or family member who has suffered from addiction might have felt a special attachment to
the Supernatural storyline
that had Sam suffer from his addiction to demon blood. These characters and story has powerful potential to connect to people's specific sufferings.
Fiction has power to be
therapeutic. Seeing people suffer in a similar way that you have forms a
connection. In a way, that connection that fiction forms is a bit more intimate
and personal. The reason I say that is because those relations you make with
non-existent characters are based on a personal interpretation. They are ones
that you make the connection to in life events and because you are the one who
made them, they are special to you. Though others might share a similar
interpretation for that effect, it is one that still molds to your particular
story. So even though other might have formed a similar special connection with
the story of Hazel and Augustus, the connection I formed is personal to me.
Thank you John Green for giving me this special connection with a fictional
character by writing this book and because I can't say this enough, Cancer
Sucks
