The Throbbing Moon and the Three Season Tango

This beautifully written memoir and honest, engaging journey drew me in from the first page and I stayed by the author’s side throughout. Unlike other memoirs I have read, “The throbbing Moon and The Three Season Tango” not only shares the difficult and sad sides of living with Cancer but also provides ways to deal with the toughest of life’s challenges, whether it be illness or any other life struggles. The author teaches us how face life straight on, how to love and laugh, and how to see the best in ourselves and others. There is a quote from her book that I feel sums up the impact this book had on me. “It makes me want to be a better person”

Once I started reading, I could not put this book down. Michele (her story is so personal I feel like know her) details her journey through cancer diagnosis, treatment approaches, roller-coasters of emotions, family, friends, relationships with total transparency into her innermost self. I was awestruck by how she is able to put her thoughts and feelings into words so vivid that I could feel them. She writes in a very down-to-earth descriptive style as if she's having a conversation with her readers. . Michele, thank you for being so courageous and vulnerable to intimately include your readers in your incredibly challenging, very scary, sometimes really funny "trip of a lifetime." I truly believe "The Throbbing Moon and the Three Season Tango" is a must-read. Carolyn Smith

I especially liked how the author's story went back and forth between diagnosis, the uncertainty, the happier times and then back to more diagnosis, treatments and each time a different emotion would emerge. She moves forward w/as much ease as possible and laughter for the sake of her family. Much support came in all forms between community, coworkers, friends and family. The author had an uncanny way of staying upbeat and looking at life in a way you never knew possible. I especially liked how she explained her illness to her daughters. A very inspiring book.

Michele Wheeler’s memoir, The Throbbing Moon, and the Three Season Tango is a compelling story about a remarkable young woman’s life while living with a terrible cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Michele is a devoted wife, mother, sister, daughter, and an environmentalist who smoothly blends science and poetry in her writing.
When her life took a dramatic turn with a dire cancer prognosis, Michele and her sister, Heather, reconnected after a rift from the previous year. Michele writes, “What’s important is love. Love that sees character and heart so that people can be themselves, despite our limitations.”
Michele’s memoir is an honest, thoughtful and sometime light hearted journey. Her many friends and admirers are a testament to the positive life she lived.
The reader will feel uplifted and inspired after reading what a young woman was able to accomplish in her much too short life.

The courage and love that went into writing this memoir will certainly be cherished by Michele’s family and friends. This book brings a new meaning to understanding and owning our own mortality. Lovingly and honestly written.

This is a powerful and irresistible must read for any cancer patient, family member or cherished friend. I write this because she includes so many insightful and emotional events typical of those with cancer irregardless of what stage they may be in. Michele deals with breast cancer, but the angst and pains of living and dying of cancer is front and center stage throughout her book. The topics of dealing with cancer on a daily basis as she relates to as “cancering” over a 9 year period are compelling, relatable, genuine and heartwarming. The author simply and effectively draws you into her life and long before mid book, you know her intimately. Join Michele and experience how this amazing title is creatively woven into the chapters of this book. What a precious gift we have been given. Although this is a memoir, you can only imagine that Michele’s was a beautiful life well lived. This book left such a profound and indelible imprint on my life that I felt a strong need to learn more about Michele. If you happen to feel like me, please visit her blog “a crack in the wall” which was named one of the top cancer blogs of 2020. You can also visit michelewheeler.com

A very moving account of Michele Wheeler's journey through cancer. Her humor, insight and heart wrenching journey should remind us all to cherish each and everyday. Her words, "here I sit in the middle of my one and only life", reverberate with me over and over again. While she may have written this as a memoir for her twin daughters, it is a lesson for the human spirit in all of us.

Micheles heartfelt memoir is about a young woman finding her way through the messy in life...Cancer! Each page will tug at your heart as you learn about her strength, frailties and the amazing love and support displayed by family, friends and community. This bright young mom, scientist, wife, daughter showed a tender side of weakness and wisdom to the end! I love reading memoirs! This book will not disappoint!

The unbreakable courage and perseverance shown by this author is awe-inspiring. During her journey from diagnosis forward, she was relentless in her fight with cancer and more importantly, she made it her goal to navigate her "cancering" her way! Her memoir compels us to really "live" in the present, to be truly aware and appreciate the incredible beauty in nature around us; the forest, the lakes, mountains and sunsets. She reminds us to "be kind to someone who needs it today" and to be extra grateful for our relationships and loved ones. After reading this book, you honestly want to be a better person.

In the Throbbing Moon and the Three Season Tango, Michele Wheeler takes us through her experience with breast cancer in a side car to the love story of her life. Both raw and transformative, the narrative takes us through living with cancer while showing us an extraordinary love for life, family, and the environment. Her words are as powerful as her strength and determination, submerging us in the imagery of her world as though we were there the whole time. By sharing her story, Wheeler passes on lessons in compassion, friendship, and navigating through the impossible that extend far beyond the reaches of cancer. All while saving the environment and raising twins... she is a true inspiration.

Quickly, I became entrenched in Michele Wheeler's book about family, friends, community and battling cancer. Her writing is stunning and her story is unforgettable. Whether she was describing her first chemo, a benefit given for her in her small town, or a friend being there, by her side, as she dealt with panic attacks, her words are personal, powerful and honest. You feel her fear, see her joy, witness her trauma, and are awed by her courage. Most of all, in her own words, Michele Wheeler inspires you, again and again, to reflect on relationships in your own life, "to slow down and pay attention," because she continues, "love is in the specifics, I didn't want to miss any of them." This is a story about life, love and how we help each other through life's challenges and darkest hours. It is riveting!

The Throbbing Moon and the Three Season Tango is a beautifully written page-turner. In her touching and compelling memoir, Michele takes her readers through the most difficult times of her life and mixes her stories of pain and sadness with love, laughter and wisdom. You root for her with each chapter and wish the ‘cancering’ away. . Her story is so many things, a way to remain true to herself and a tribute to her family. But is also provides a reminder for all of us to be grateful, be kind to one another, be present for yourself and others, and to “focus on where you want to go, not the obstacles in your way.” I highly recommend this book!

Michele Wheeler’s fiercely honest and deeply personal account of her physical, emotional, and spiritual battle with cancer will reach deep into your soul to give you a first person account of what it’s like to live and come to terms with this horrible illness during the prime of one’s life. Her beautiful imagery, poetic writing, and acute observations of the ackward conversations, exasperating situations, and the amazing people involved in her life, as well as her ability to find beauty, gratitude, humor and love in between and during her pain and sadness, craft a clear picture of a life well lived while her conclusions of its worth ring true of a truly enlightened soul. The Throbbing Moon And The Three Season Tango will give you the wisdom of life that can only be found by hard experience, for as Michele says, “When we’re willing to accept that there might be something more, or, even harder, something different, that’s when real growth happens. With a small, well-placed shift in the way we view the world and our place in it, maybe we can find something more in our existing selves.”

Michele Wheeler provides an insightful look into what it's like to be the one "cancering" in her memoir The Throbbing Moon and the Three Season Tango. Michele's recount of her journey with cancer as a delicate dance that changes through time is devastatingly beautiful and at times achingly funny. It seems that more often than not we hear cancer stories from the perspective of the folks whose lives have been touched by cancer peripherally-- those who are in the caregiver or supporter role-- and what it was like for them. But Michele brings the perspective of what it was like to be the one fighting the battle herself. She provides a raw and honest truth about the internal struggle to maintain optimism and hope, as a means to protect her family and friends, yet at the same time never being able to escape the grim reality she discovered she was facing. While no one's "cancering" (as she calls it) is exactly the same, Michele's book is an important account for those who seek to try and understand what it may be like for the person going through something like this. This book is a beautiful read for all of those who knew her in real life and for those who meet her for the first time through this book. Michele's thoughtful account has put something into this world to show the reader how to have more love, empathy, and compassion for others, as well as for ourselves.

The authors humor and raw emotion brought me to laughter and tears throughout her captivating memoir. She takes us on her “cancering” journey through fear, hope, denial, love, anger, friendship and family. Stories of encounters with well-meaning friends and acquaintances presented needed lessons for us all. Her words influence me to be a better cancer supporter (or patient, if the time comes). And if that time comes, I sure hope I have a Heather, Autumn, Mihailo, and the super fine Mr. Jon Wheeler!

I have never read a book like this before. Michele Wheeler gives us a perspective of stage IV cancer that most people will never hear, never be given the opportunity to take in. The Throbbing Moon and the Three Season Tango is a very well written account of one woman’s experience with late stage breast cancer. The author lets her guard down and opens up to let us see the raw emotion and harsh reality of coming to grips with her own mortality. The book is an excellent read, it’s not light-hearted but it is real, honest and very loving. I appreciate Michele for offering us all her insight into “cancering” as she puts it, to help the reader see and feel her experience intimately. I feel this book is not only about coming to terms with your own mortality, or loss, or grief, but it’s about life. Life is precious, and not always fair but to be appreciated and savored at every moment and never to be taken for granted. Thank you Michele for letting us in, I have a different perspective now.

This beautifully written memoir is about so much more than cancer. It's about the connections that make us who we are and about the changes that happen deep within us when we "leap from vine to vine" trying to get to the other side of a seemingly impossible life-altering challenge. The change started when the author first took "a sabbatical in the 'cancery' cosmos ...that treasured reverence for living so highly that it took no time for granted...where a love for the beauties of now were made greater and more fragile because an un-promised future was a central tenant in the practice of living". Her description of the difficulty returning "to a world oblivious to how precarious our lives are, to a world filled with people who innocently assumed a security I could not feel" is a must-read for anyone who loves someone with a terminal illness. The author has the unique ability to seamlessly move from light-hearted antidotes of good times with her family and friends to life-altering realizations brought on by devastating news but still, somehow, she continues to make the reader feel like we're grabbing that "next vine" along side her. When the book ends and she's made her journey through all the things cancer has forced her to learn, even those of us who may never face a terminal illness come out on the other side as better people for having learned from her experience. I very highly recommend this beautiful memoir!

Michele Wheeler courageously shares her journey in this deeply personal, inspiring memoir. Granting the reader full & intimate access to her path in facing cancer, no matter her challenge her spirit shines in the light of gratitude for life, love, family and friends. Uniquely blending an incisive wit and unrelenting truth, her story inspires us to be better people, more loving, open, supportive, appreciative. Michele’s Tango opens the heart and draws us to the dance floor to move, to feel, to shimmy, twirl and sway..

I have never been so profoundly affected by a book before this one. The darkest moments and the not so dark ones are meet with denial, despair, hope, and yes, humor. The episode with the “ crystal lady “ was especially funny. Thank you Mrs. Wheeler for sharing your “cancering” journey with us. Your beautifully written book will influence the way I see and approach people with terminal illness. A must read for any person and family member facing such a diagnosis..

What an inspiring memoir! From denial, all the way to acceptance, Michele invited me to share her end of life story. Her detailed descriptions allowed me to see her great courage, and her control in not allowing cancer to dominate her life. Having gone through breast cancer myself, (but with a better outcome), I could identify with the beginning of Michele's journey. I could not put it down!!! I wish I had known her.

There are memoirs and then there is this memoir. Michele Wheeler has crafted a written record of her nine-year “cancering” journey as she calls it, for her beloved twin daughters. She possessed unimaginable strength, courage and sheer will to create this precious work of love, while navigating and authentically sharing her daily life, the unknowns, fear and intensity of this disease; from her first diagnosis of the “good kind of cancer that is treatable” to her last one. Michele’s profound messages on living and the complexity of acceptance, rich in metaphor, is meticulously braided through every chapter with each strand closely intertwined into the essence of her life. Her written prose is at times lyrical, while also lucid and direct, punctuated with humor and short, dynamic sentences for quickly absorbing the dialogue throughout. This powerful book is that one read you just cannot put down and promises to continue to deeply inspire and transform long after you have finished.

This book gave an honest perspective from someone diagnosed and living with cancer and how they dealt with it in their personal, work, and social lives. As someone who hasn't had cancer in my immediate family, I appreciated up front feelings the author provided. I was a little confused about the tango sections but it became clear at the end. It was an enlightening book. Whether you just want to understand or if don't want to feel alone, this is a book you should read.