07/18/2016
In this profound and ultimately uplifting memoir, Omega Institute cofounder Lesser (Broken Open) shares the experience of becoming her younger sister’s bone-marrow donor after the sister’s recurrence of stage-IV mantle-cell lymphoma. The procedure is Maggie’s only hope of survival, though it comes with risks. Early into the search for a donor, Lesser, one of four sisters, turns out to be a “perfect match.” Lesser takes readers through the sisters’ childhood in Long Island. The four girls are the offspring of “zealously unreligious” parents (a Jewish ad salesman and an English teacher raised by Christian Scientists). Lesser has always been “a spiritual seeker,” and Maggie, a nurse practitioner, is the more pragmatic sib. Whatever their differences growing up, the bone-marrow transplant brings them closer together; they even visit a therapist to confront any past misunderstandings and emotionally prepare for the procedure. Along with a memoir of family love, fortitude, and healing, Lesser offers advice on living a soul-centered life, on how to talk to cancer patients, on how to live with authenticity, and on many other topics. She also provides a fascinating explanation of the bone-marrow-transplant process. Though the subject is somber, Lesser’s outlook is hopeful and sometimes humorous; she describes the four sisters dancing in the treatment room, sharing reminiscences of their parents, finding moments to be lighthearted. Readers will be inspired by Lesser’s wise and loving approach to both life and death. (Sept.)
Lesser has woven a masterful tapestry of tenderness and insight from her lifelong journey with her sister Maggie. Her courage and honesty are only matched by the depth of her love. This book erases the line between writing and living to give each of us a taste of the Mystery.
Lesser unlocked the goodness of a whole new kind of relationship with her dear sister and a whole new understanding of her own capacity for love and grief.
A clear and graceful writer, Liz is adept at describing both the transplant and the emotional process of becoming a sort of joint entity she calls ‘Maggie-Liz.’ Readers may recall My Sister’s Keeper...that was a tear-jerker—but this is far more so, a real-life story with no happy ending but many joyful moments.
I am moved to the core by the depth and beauty of this memoir. Like Broken Open, this a book I will reread often as a reminder of what is really essential in life: love and spirit.
Lesser, whose talent and unusual blend of heart and intelligence I’ve long admired, perceptively shows the soul in process. Marrow is a beautiful book that will move you but also show you how to tap into the healing richness of the soul in any serious life challenge.
Marrow will take you into the depths of what it means to be DNA-linked family whose destinies were linked before birth. This beautifully written and evocative book touched me deeply; may it touch you too.
Marrow is a deeply brave, honest, emotional, visionary ride into the scary and liberating marrow of sisterhood. Lesser’s book is ultimately a spiritual transfusion, begging us to clean and rid ourselves of any past blood that stands in the path of love.
Lesser has reached into the center of her soul to write a book rich with love—love that is just as equally weighted by realism and as it is lightened by mysticism. It is real love: powerful and transformative. Marrow is truly a beautiful book, and an important one.
Marrow is wise and raw, vulnerable and funny. Elizabeth’s profoundly honest journey to learn what it is to be flawed, to grow, to change, to love and to let go moved me deeply…..to my marrow.
I thought with Marrow, Elizabeth Lesser had written a book about dying. But in fact (and miraculously) this is a book that teaches us how to live.
Marrow is an unforgettable memoir about two sisters, but it’s really about all of us. It’s about the courage it takes to own our stories, look truth in the eye, and write our own bold endings. No one truth-tells with more soul and tenacity. Lesser’s courage is contagious.
Every human goes through love and loss. Not everyone finds out what matters most. This book is also your story and mine. Read it and you may get to know yourself a little better.
Elizabeth Lesser is a masterful storyteller and a heartfelt, eloquent, and graceful writer whose words branded themselves into my mind and pulled me along willingly, page by page. Marrow filled me with love, humility, and compassion.
Marrow is a gorgeous contemplation of what it means to live and love with our whole being, regardless of the amount of chronological time we are granted. Read it and be lifted up; share it and lift up others.
This profound memoir traces the love between two sisters as they travel together through ‘thickets of despair and hope,’ their bond deepening beneath the bone to the ‘soul’s marrow.’
Marrow is an unforgettable memoir about two sisters, but it’s really about all of us. It’s about the courage it takes to own our stories, look truth in the eye, and write our own bold endings. No one truth-tells with more soul and tenacity. Lesser’s courage is contagious.
A clear and graceful writer, Lesser... brings anecdotes from history, mythology and philosophy to bear on an essentially tragic story.
Her sister Maggie needs bone marrow transplant, so Lesser willingly donates hers. But the two end up sharing something even more important. Fearlessly opening up their deepest selves ...the sisters eloquently school readers about love, self-accpetance, and the truest way to live.
2016-06-22
Omega Institute co-founder Lesser (Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow, 2005) tells the story of the profound emotional journey that ensued after she became her sister's bone marrow donor.The first time the author's sister, Maggie, was diagnosed with cancer, she beat the disease and went into remission. But seven years later, it returned with a vengeance. Doctors told Maggie that the only way she could survive the disease a second time was through a bone marrow transplant. When Lesser learned that she was her sister's genetic match, she was overjoyed. But she also realized that donation—which would not guarantee that Maggie would live—would mean examining the tense relationship with her sister. "We [had] spent most of our lives circling around each other," writes the author, "each of us feeling imperfect in the mirror of the other's lives." Both sisters began therapy to sort through the conflicting emotions they experienced in the shadow of Maggie's disease. Lesser learned that Maggie saw her as "the big sister…the smarter one, the one going places," while she reveals that she envied Maggie for being the lovable sister who lived an authentic life. Realizing that neither was perfect, the sisters forgave each other. This opening of hearts in turn led to a deepening of the bond—made physical through the transfer of Lesser's stem cells into Maggie's body—they had with each other. Ultimately, the transplant did not save Maggie's life. Yet rather than view this outcome as a tragedy, the author chose to understand it as a gift that not only expanded her heart, but also showed her that love was the most powerful "adhesive force" in the universe. Drawing on Zen philosophers like D.T. Suzuki and alternative medicine advocates like Deepak Chopra, Lesser offers a soulful blend of life lessons learned and spiritual wisdom that reads like a balm for the soul. A searching, compassionate, and uplifting memoir.
