THE END OF MY LIFE IS KILLING ME by Annabelle Gurwitch - Spotlight

In this deftly comedic and deeply contemplative memoir, the New York Times bestselling author faces life’s biggest curveball only to find resilience in the most unlikely places.

After Annabelle Gurwitch received an out-of-the blue diagnosis of Stage 4 lung cancer, an existential dread set in. Precision medicine offered a temporary reprieve—but instead of turning into a cancer warrior, Annabelle declared herself a cancer slacker. Her motto: no runs, no ribbons, no religion.

Told with her signature wit, warmth, and gimlet eye, Gurwitch draws inspiration from Greek mythology and TV comedies, Kermit the Frog and Samuel Beckett. She accidentally acquires an angel, embraces being in it “just for the sex,” and finds herself on a European van tour selling merch for a heavy metal band.

In this hilariously and deeply affecting meditation on mortality, the actress and activist illuminates life with chronic disease, inequities in care, and celebrates tiny victories, the crusty ends of baguettes, the discreet pleasure of sucking at a hobby, and the unshakable bond of female friendship. She upends the notion of living each day as if it were your last, as she discovers you can cape too much diem, embracing, instead, the extraordinariness of the ordinary.

***Annabelle is going on quite an extensive tour. See if she's coming to your town.

ANNABELLE GURWITCH is an actress, activist, and New York Times Bestselling author of six books and two-time finalist for the Thurber Prize.

Her essays have appeared in The New Yorker, New York Times, Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and Hadassah Magazine amongst other publications. Her six books include the New York Times bestseller and Thurber Prize finalist I See You Made an Effort.

Annabelle co-hosted the fan favorite Dinner & a Movie on TBS, was a regular commentator for NPR. She is serving in leadership as a patient advocate with the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). She is a Jewish mother, a terrible gardener, even worse ukulele player, a lung cancer survivor,and an unrepentant cat lady who lives in Los Angeles.