Again and Again
Juliet Wittman
Again and Again takes place in cancerland, a world no one wants to visit. The novel’s story is told by Paula, a nurse, and Chloe, a 23-year-old with a terminal diagnosis. Chloe, fierce, fragile, passionate, generous and self-absorbed–yes, all those things–is determined to defeat her own death and to save four-year-old Colin, whose insurance company is refusing the treatment that can save his life. The two women and a handful of other patients embark on a quest that veers between comedy and tragedy. They help and encourage each other, weep and rejoice together, and refuse to give up a task that often seems impossible. After all, they reason, what do they have to lose? Again and Again is about illness, female bonding, love and fear, and the intense joy and vitality that can inform lives lived in the shadow of death.
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Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9994457-8-5
Ebook ISBN: 978-0-9994457-5-4
Hardbound ISBN: 979-8-9866069-1-0
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Acclaim for Again & Again
Absorbing and heartbreaking.”
— Margaret Atwood
“A quiet stunner of a novel.”
— Kirkus Reviews
In Juliet Wittman’s book, cancerland is a place of joy and vitality in the shadow of death.”
—John Moore, Denver Gazette
“A moving and riveting book about cancer from the perspective of both the ones who suffer from it to the healers.”
— Kika Dorsey, poet and author of the novel As Joan Approaches Infinity
“From the first page, I was drawn in so completely that I read nothing else until I finished the book…. With cancer always close, the drama can be fierce. The reader’s solace, on every page, is Juliet Wittman’s eloquent prose.”
— John Thorndike, author of The World Against Her Skin
“A beautiful and moving book about three women facing terminal cancer and the oncology nurse who takes care of them. But it’s so much more than just a journey to the end of life. It’s also flush with grace and courage.”
— Emma Messenger, Denver actor
“If the words ‘heartbreaking’ and ‘beautiful’ hadn’t become such stale and easy praise, they might suffice. I want to write them as if they were the first words spoken in the world, because this book is exceptionally beautiful, and it did, in fact, break my heart.”
—John Tweedy, attorney and filmmaker. Director of This Is Not Who We Are.
Author Juliet Wittman
Again and Again was inspired by Juliet Wittman’s experience with breast cancer: the vivid intensity of daily life when that life is threatened, the profound relationships among patients, and the anger, laughter, grief and moments of blazing insight these patients share.
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Juliet grew up in London, and has lived in the United States through much of her adult life. An investigative reporter, theater critic, and writing instructor at the University of Colorado, she taught writing classes on the topic of food for several years. Much of her thinking on the centrality of food to our lives and the way it shapes thought and culture was inspired by her students’ personal stories.
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Wittman has won journalism awards and published essays and short stories in literary magazines. Her memoir, Breast Cancer Journal: A Century of Petals, won the Colorado Book Award and was named a finalist for the National Book Award.
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Visit Juliet’s Substack column:
“The Crack in the Teacup“
It’s musings about politics, food, memories, ideas, poems, theater, aging, and more.
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