In CARRYING THE TIGER: Living with Cancer, Dying with Grace, Finding Joy While Grieving, Tony Stewart delivers a moving memoir that explores love, loss, and resilience. What emerges is more than just an account of illness and grief; it’s a masterclass in facing life’s hardest moments with grace.
The book opens with Stewart and his wife Lynn living their best lives, which sets the stage for the shock of a lifetime: news that Lynn’s mysterious digestive issues are actually symptoms of stage IV lung cancer that has already spread to her spine. What follows is a remarkable six-year journey as they navigate treatment options, setbacks, and brief periods of remission—all while maintaining their creative spirits and connection to each other.
Pairing real-time CaringBridge posts (a private online journal platform for sharing health updates) with a more traditional narrative, Stewart gives readers an intimate view of their journey. With a writing style that mixes raw emotion with careful observation, Stewart weaves together medical details, emotional challenges, and practical realities: “How long she will live is an open question; it depends on luck and the choices we make. The luck is out of our hands, but we feel a heavy responsibility to make the right choices.”
While CARRYING THE TIGER is told from Stewart’s perspective, he goes to great lengths to present his dying wife as a three-dimensional person—weaving together her artwork, creative spirit, and vibrant personality into a complex portrait. Through detailed descriptions of Lynn’s paintings and the chorus of supportive voices from friends and family, she emerges as much more than just a patient. The result is a book that is as much about loss and grief as it is a tribute to an artist “who couldn’t stop painting.”
This memoir stands as both a loving tribute and a practical guide for anyone navigating serious illness or loss. While the subject matter is undeniably heavy through much of this book—detailed accounts of medical procedures, grueling hospital stays, and profound loss dominate many chapters—Stewart also manages to find a glimmer or two of hope. Some may find the barrage of medical details overwhelming, and others might struggle with Stewart’s candid exploration of navigating a new relationship while grieving, but you can’t help but appreciate his unwavering commitment to honesty. In fact, it’s that very same honesty that transforms a deeply personal catharsis into something surprisingly universal and accessible.
From the intimate details of his wife’s battle with stage IV lung cancer to his own path through grief, Tony Stewart’s CARRYING THE TIGER: Living with Cancer, Dying with Grace, Finding Joy While Grieving will resonate with anyone who has faced serious illness or the loss of a loved one.
~James Weiskittel for IndieReader