Grief
Grief
"Grief is the fabric of selfhood and beautifully chaotic." -Max Porter
I was diagnosed with the incurable blood cancer multiple myeloma in 2018 and had been on chemo for over two years when my cocktail of drugs stopped working in February 2021.
Before embarking on an experimental immunotherapy clinical trial, I worked with Ryder Cooley, leader of the goth band The Dustbowl Fairies, to create this book. We shot in and around Catskill and Hudson, New York in the dead of winter.
In real life, Ryder uses hirudo medicinalis leeches to treat her circulatory problems and anxiety. Hirudo medicinalis was one of the first treatments used to treat multiple myeloma after it was first discovered in London in 1844.
The five stages of Grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.
Book design: Marc Cozza
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