The Cancer Journals

More than 40 years after its initial publication, Black feminist poet and activist Lorde’s chronicle of her experiences with breast cancer and mastectomy continues to resonate with strength and insight. In this collection of diary entries, poems, and essays, Lorde reveals her fear and outrage upon receiving positive biopsy results and subsequently undergoing a radical mastectomy. Her recovery is more difficult than anticipated, not only because of the physical pain, but because Lorde must make sense of this one-breasted version of herself and reclaim her beauty and power in the face of societal disapproval and disgust. This audio is narrated by Lorde’s daughter, Elizabeth Lorde-Rollins, along with Tracy K. Smith, who reads the foreword to this latest edition. Lorde-Rollins provides a steady narration that evokes her mother’s strength of spirit. At times, her narration is a bit too measured, but listeners will appreciate her authentic, heartfelt tone. Smith’s reading is vibrant and full-bodied, a perfect poetic introduction for Lorde’s searing words.