Cover Image: Cross Everything

Cross Everything

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Member Reviews

A very emotional and for me an important book about living with the horrid BIG C. An interesting read which at time had me in tears.

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This was a very emotional book, very well written approaching the subject of cancer and a good insite to the effects it has I was gripped reading it following the personal journey and the hearbreak

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Cross Everything is a heart-wrenching cancer memoir, a fascinating popular-science detective story, and a witty and at times darkly comical take on a disease that half of us will experience at some point in our lives. When Henry Scowcroft's fiancée Zarah was diagnosed with stage 4 bladder cancer in 2016, their world fell apart. An award-winning science writer for Cancer Research UK, Henry had spent 14 years at the coal-face of cancer research, but now the disease had infiltrated his personal life too. In Cross Everything--his first book--Henry uses this unique perspective to tell the story of Zarah's illness, how he tried in vain to use everything he'd learnt in his professional career to try to save her, and in doing so, how he realized that even a career writing about cancer daily isn't enough preparation for what comes next.

Along the way, Cross Everything brings the reader up to speed with the latest understanding of cancer--a complex disease with a Darwinian capacity to outsmart its host. This is a stark reminder that even those who have medical expertise or are closely linked to that field can't stop the ravaging an aggressive cancer can wreak on the body; it's really quite scary. I was deeply moved by the love and care Scowcroft provided to Zarah and his ceaseless search for a way to save her life. I also found the information, facts and statistics and the latest research on cancer to be fascinating and feel this is useful to a great many people given 1 in 2 of us will develop cancer in our lifetime. Highly recommended.

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Excellent read, I would strongly recommend this.

An insightful and personal journey and account of the effect of bladder cancer on the lives of the author and his partner. Plus with this author's background in science and cancer writing he gives thoroughly researched and up to date descriptions of complex areas of current cancer research in a way that is very readable and opens up cancer to a much wider population. The scientific part of this book blends well alongside the patient journey and makes it really readable.

I think this is a must for doctors, patients, carers and families alike.

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An interesting take on a man's point of view in dealing with his wife's cancer diagnosis. As a cancer research doctor he explains the function of the cancer cells and the destruction they cause alongside a raw but necessary insight into life after diagnosis. A thought provoking but challenging read.

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This is a very unique book, borne out of unique and very sad circumstances. I loved the mixture of the personal story with the facts about cancer and cancer treatment. It answered alot of questions I have in my mind about how it feels to go through something as complex as cancer, especially while navigating the NHS - this book confirms that it's not easy and its not black and white as some of the nicely potted stories would have you believe. It also confirmed for me that it's not just us who pull our hair our at times when dealing with the consequences of the NHS being grossly underesourced, with all the impact it has on quality and continuity of overall care.

The rawness of the story comes across effortlessly (as you might expect given what Henry and his girlfriend went through) as well as the gut-wrenching and all consuming search for information treatments that might help, and to leave no stone un-turned. I am not a scientist and sometimes the descriptions of how cancer develops (or might develop) lost me, but I got what I needed from it and it was incredibly helpful for someone like me who spends alot of time with alot of questions about cancer that usually go unanswered.

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Because I have a medical background, and love reading memoir, this book captivated me from the start. It’s partly a darkly humorous, heart-rending memoir and part deep scientific exploration into the mechanisms of how bladder cancer develops, including its subsequent treatment, and ongoing research to help future sufferers.

The author is a well qualified and reliable guide because he’s a cancer research scientist who has worked as a science writer for Cancer Research UK for 14 years. So when his beloved partner, the exuberant, optimistic and life affirming Zarah, develops bladder cancer, his medical knowledge automatically infiltrates with the heartbreaking personal journey they both undertake.

He highlights the fun loving side of Zarah and the quirks she had but doesn’t shy away from painful issues either. This is an honest, harrowing but beautiful memoir and eulogy with laughter alongside the tears, and fascinating medical detail coupled with insight into how Zarah’s progressive terminal illness personally affected them both. A difficult, tear-jerking read in places but also full of interest and pathos. Grateful thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc for the ARC.

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Cross Everything is a heart-wrenching cancer memoir and a witty and at times darkly comical take on a disease that one in two of us will experience at some point in our lives.

As a nurse who has worked in emergency care, palliative care, and now intensive care, the storyline resonated well with me. The details given from the author's point of view had me heartbroken and crying ugly tears. While a huge part of the story is the author's grief and feelings, part of the story is also clinical knowledge and a real insight into cancer itself. It is not all doom and gloom, there is always light at the end of that tunnel.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the cover is eyecatching, and this is a book I will be sharing with the other ICU nurses I work with. I 100% recommend and would love a physical copy.

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This book is an education on so many levels - both academic and the brutal reality for everyone with and close to a cancer diagnosis. The alternating medical sections edge very much towards the technical but in some ways this allows you to filter out the key points to a level that's meaningful to you. As the story interrelates the medical facts with a true life example, it all becomes so much more relevant. Either section on its own would be a good read. Bringing them together takes it to a whole new level.

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As someone with a close family member who had bladder cancer over a year ago I had to read this. The author's girlfriend was diagnosed with advanced bladder cancer at the age of 37. Not long after, she died, This is a moving story of her life and death but it is also a very detailed exploration of what cancer is and in particular what her cancer was. The science is clearly explained and is not too difficult to follow but it is the eulogy to the life of that brilliant, bright young woman which is the most moving. Once again I realise how fortunate that our own story ended so differently with an all clear at the end of last year. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

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Such a unique and interesting way to tell a story. I learnt so much, but the book wasn’t heavy on the science and it was easy to understand. 

I felt connected to both Henry and Zarah as we followed their story. A great balance of heart and care coupled with the medical aspect of what was happening when Zarah was fighting the cancer. Well written, informative and beautifully told story.

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We know from the beginning of the book that Henry’s partner Zarah died of bladder cancer. No spoilers there. But this is a great blend of showing us the intricacies of their journey through it - the medical and the very human - alongside the detailed picture of what was happening in her body.
I really enjoyed the humour too as ‘Team Twat’ - Henry and Zarah - muddles through life together.
Henry also worked for Cancer Research and he uses his clinical knowledge and detailed analysis of Zarah’s tissue, blood and more by dedicated experts to help us understand how cancer happens.
This is sometimes quite techie but you can choose to take in as much as you want.
I really liked the balance of a medical book with a heart. I grew to really care about Zarah and to feel I was alongside her and Henry.
I’d thoroughly recommend this to anyone who is interested in the science but also wants a well-written and human story of a life well-lived.

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