Survival Lessons (original 2013; edition 2013)

by Alice Hoffman

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260	32	103,680	(3.89)	17
Biography & Autobiography. Health & Fitness. New Age. Nonfiction. HTML: *The bestselling author and cancer survivor delivers "an optimistic instruction manual . . . [for] anyone struggling with self-care in a time of trouble" (Story Circle Book Reviews).* Survival Lessons provides a road map of how to reclaim your life from this day forward, with ways to reenvision everything�??from relationships with friends and family to the way you see yourself. As Alice Hoffman says, "In many ways I wrote Survival Lessons to remind myself of the beauty of life, something that's all too easy to overlook during the crisis of illness or loss . . . I forgot that our lives are made up of equal parts of sorrow and joy, and that it is impossible to have one without the other . . . I wrote to remind myself that . . . despite everything that was happening to me, there were still choices I could make." Wise, gentle, and wry, Alice Hoffman teaches all of us how to choose what matters most. "In this gem of a book, Alice Hoffman acknowledges the sorrows of life, while reminding us of its joys. Survival Lessons is filled with love, insight, and lots of practical advice�??including a crazy-good brownie recipe." �??Will Schwalbe, New York Times�??bestselling author of The End of Your Life Book Club "Hoffman's storytelling artistry enlivens each intimate, thoughtfully distilled, charming, and nurturing lesson in living." �??Booklist "Full of smart intentions and kind reminders . . . Uplifting advice we'll gladly take." �??Better Homes & Gardens "The book is not about her breast cancer per se but about making choices that will improve readers' lives and relationships and remind them 'of the beauty of life.'" �??Lib… (more)

▾Book information

Member:	LaurieAE
Title:	Survival Lessons
Authors:	Alice Hoffman
Info:	HighBridge Company (2013), Edition: Unabridged; 1 hour, Audio CD, 60 pages
Collections:	Your library, Currently reading, Wishlist, To read, Read but unowned, Favorites
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Tags:	to-read, recommended, 2013

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Survival Lessons by Alice Hoffman (2013)

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Showing 1-5 of 34 (next | show all)

I really need to accept the fact that I almost never like self help books. (

)

Tosta | Nov 6, 2023 |

This memoir is sad, of course. But it is filled with wisdom borne of experience. Recognizing the miraculous beauty in both the sublime and the details of the every day world.

Hoffman advises those suffering through illness to move forward. Fulfill that bucket list, listen to music, nap in the middle of the day, read, write, socialize, help others, do, listen, live. Appreciate each moment.

Smart and optimistic advice.

Excellent read.

Bookish59 | Apr 21, 2022 |

Re-reading. I nor anybody I know is sick right now but I love the lessons given, Alice Hoffman style.

"Life is beautiful, just very unfair."
"I did my best to pretend it wasn't so. ... I didn't have time to be ill. Now I know you can't run away by ignoring the truth. Truth follows you; it comes in through open windows and drifts under doors."
-------------------------------

Reading these lessons, written down by an author I love, encourages me to identify some of the tangible and not so tangible details of my life. I love when Alice Hoffman writes how the air smells or uses colors to describe the day. Or how she said watching a child run on the beach can be the most beautiful thing in the world.

p.s. AH's cousin says there is an error on the knitting project: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/beehive-hat-for-survival-lessons scroll to the bottom. There is also a how-to video about the knitting project.

FYI At the end of the audiobook there is a part that isn't in the physical book. Alice says something like, "this book may not be a memoir but it is the most personal book I have written". I got the book out of the library after listening to it on audiobook expecting to be able to re-read passages but that part isn't in the physical book.

I'm not fond of the narrator voice. (

)

Corinne2020 | Aug 22, 2021 |

Meh. Vey physically pretty book, from the cover to the illustrations, and some good passages, but I expected more heart and fewer platitudes from Alice Hoffman. (

)

CaitlinMcC | Jul 11, 2021 |

Without wishing to minimise Hoffman's personal experience or her own ways of coping with illness...I didn't get much out of this book. There is some lovely writing, and a few insights that resonated with me:

I would also want to invite Emily Dickinson, even though it is said that at some point she only spoke to callers through her bedroom door. That makes me love her all the more because I often feel exactly the same and want to hide away.

The truth is, some of your closest friends may disappear during your most difficult times. These people have their own history and traumas; they may not be able to deal with yours. They may belong to the before.

But the bulk of the book was things that have been said before, many times, and advice that is at best privileged, at worst slightly dodgy (if you have a potentially fatal illness, acquire a puppy?) (

)

DebsDd | Jan 18, 2021 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Alice Hoffman	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Xe, Sands	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

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Canonical title

Survival Lessons

Original title

Survival Lessons

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2013

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Epigraph

Dedication

First words

When I found the lump I was convinced I had imagined it.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

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Schwalbe, Will

Original language

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▾Book descriptions

Biography & Autobiography. Health & Fitness. New Age. Nonfiction. HTML:

The bestselling author and cancer survivor delivers "an optimistic instruction manual . . . [for] anyone struggling with self-care in a time of trouble" (Story Circle Book Reviews).
Survival Lessons provides a road map of how to reclaim your life from this day forward, with ways to reenvision everything�??from relationships with friends and family to the way you see yourself. As Alice Hoffman says, "In many ways I wrote Survival Lessons to remind myself of the beauty of life, something that's all too easy to overlook during the crisis of illness or loss . . . I forgot that our lives are made up of equal parts of sorrow and joy, and that it is impossible to have one without the other . . . I wrote to remind myself that . . . despite everything that was happening to me, there were still choices I could make."
Wise, gentle, and wry, Alice Hoffman teaches all of us how to choose what matters most.
"In this gem of a book, Alice Hoffman acknowledges the sorrows of life, while reminding us of its joys. Survival Lessons is filled with love, insight, and lots of practical advice�??including a crazy-good brownie recipe." �??Will Schwalbe, New York Times�??bestselling author of The End of Your Life Book Club
"Hoffman's storytelling artistry enlivens each intimate, thoughtfully distilled, charming, and nurturing lesson in living." �??Booklist
"Full of smart intentions and kind reminders . . . Uplifting advice we'll gladly take." �??Better Homes & Gardens
"The book is not about her breast cancer per se but about making choices that will improve readers' lives and relationships and remind them 'of the beauty of life.'" �??Lib