Bald in the Land of Big Hair: A True Story
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List Price: $13.95
Our Price: $11.16
Your Save: $ 2.79 ( 20% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 362.196994460092
EAN: 9780060955267
ISBN: 0060955260
Label: Harper Perennial
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 272
Publication Date: 2002-02
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Release Date: 2002-02-05
Studio: Harper Perennial
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Editorial Reviews:
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Bald in the Land of Big Hair is the hilarious-and often heartbreaking-tale of Joni Rodgers's journey through the badlands of cancer told with humor, occasional anger, and unflinching honesty. More than just a cancer book, this is a deeply affecting memoir of one woman's struggle to come to terms with everything that life throws her way. Ultimately, this is a moving celebration of the true meaning of human triumph and courage, the importance of community and the imperative of living everyday with joy.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: When Cell's Go Funky
Comment: Bald in the Land of Big Hair is the autobiography of a woman named Joni Rodgers. She was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1994. The novel takes place in Houston, TX where she and her husband Gary currently live with their two children, Malachi and Jerusha. The title of the book stems from this location. Everything is bigger in Texas, including hair, but as Joni undergoes extensive chemo-therapy to rid her body of cancer, she soon discovers herself struggling to find a wig that will conceal her balding head. But Rodgers is not soliciting pity. Every page is filled with wit, despite the novel's depiction of a horrible disease that strikes a seemingly innocent mother. With raw emotions of anger and honesty Joni Rodgers presents a cancer story that the everyday person can comprehend. And she motivates others to face whatever it is that life throws at them.
Throughout the novel, Rodgers flaunts her attitude and behaves like any human would in her situation. At the same time she is informative concerning her disease and the treatments/side-effects that go along with it. She describes her cancer as:
My cells were having a big ol' party all right. They'd turned my lymph nodes into brothels and pool halls and Casino Royales. Tiny tasseled bimbo cells were jumping out of cakes and lap dancing for beer-bellied, cigar-smoking lymphocytes who tucked dollar bills into garter belts around their nuclei. (9)
Her son simply states, "Cancer is what happens when your cells decide to go funky" (251). This is not a research biologist's journal of cellular genetics, but rather a description for the general public. The readers learn of her symptoms such as fever, swollen glands, itchiness, and back pain while she makes fun of the doctor's indecipherable cancer jargon. Rodgers also does a superb job of illustrating the processes and adverse effects of chemotherapy. The nausea, the hair loss, the chemicals and needles all prompt Rodgers to state, ". . . why is chemo-therapy like a vacuum cleaner? Because it sucks" (175). Her realistic approach allows the reader to understand what cancer does to a person's body from a compatible perspective.
Overall, I feel that this novel opened my eyes to the emotional side of cancer. The personal and comical language led me into Joni Rodgers' world where I was enlightened on how cancer makes a person feel both mentally and physically. Although she refrains from entirely extraneous terminology, Rodgers incorporates and describes many significant cancer terms that added depth to my biological knowledge of the disease as well. Because I have thankfully not had to go through what Joni Rodgers has it is hard for me to empathize with her, but she receives my admiration. After all that she has endured, Joni Rodgers is able to maintain an encouraging mind-set. Towards the end of the novel she states, "I advocate life. I recommend joy. I endorse forgiveness, and I suggest you seek until you find whatever it is you need. . . one way or another, all things come to their healing" (252-253). These words of inspiration motivate the reader to live life no matter what happens because it won't always be good. This is a powerful truth in our society, and it takes a valiant person like Joni Rodgers to endorse it.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: So-so
Comment: Perhaps I'm just very sensitive to the topic of cancer and general, and despite the fact I realize humor has it's place in cancer treatment, as well as treatment of the whole person, I did find offense to a few aspects of this book. The author obviously has dealt with this trial first hand and knows the importance of tactfulness in such situations, however I felt saddened by it at times and wonder if it would also sadden a newly diagnosed cancer victim.
I would recommend this book for someone that has a good support group, knows the monster they are dealing with, and is strong enough and ready for humor.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Offended and Disappointed
Comment: Rodgers writes this book from a Christian perspective, but as a Christian I was offended by the language and explicit nature of this book. She explains love making early in her chemotherapy treatment, and discusses the smell and taste of body fluids in explicit detail. This part was at the beginning portion of the book; I finished the book, and found this to be the most offensive bit. Negative attitude and raw language were scattered throughout, however.
This being said, Rodger's story is an honest, provoking one. Her story is interesting and useful. The reader just needs to understand that, as a Christian book, this has some very offensive, unnecessary language.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Funny and real - in the land of Very Scary Things
Comment: This is one of the best books I have read lately. It's definitely not a cancer-as-slapstick memoir. Joni Rodgers got horribly sick, could have died, and she pulls no punches as this book surveys the physical, emotional and financial wreckage.
Yet she weaves laugh-out-loud passages into her story, which also resonates with tough spirituality, honest frustrations and fears, and love. Lots of love.
I'm buying an extra copy, to pass along when I think someone could benefit from reading it. I want to hang on to a copy, though. There are things I can learn from reading it again. Things I wish I wouldn't need to think about, but for the sad fact that someone I know is likely to be diagnosed with cancer in the future. Maybe with Joni Rodgers' book under my belt I can feel less helpless and find something useful to do for them.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent Combination of Tragedy and Humor!!
Comment: I read this book because I asked my fiance to bring me any book from the library and he picked this one because he thought I'd like it...and the reality is that YES I DID LIKE IT.
"Bald in the land of big hair" is a very very good, inspiring and hilarious book. The mix is just perfect.
Joni Rodgers tells us about her life and the huge impact on her life when she discovered she had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. This book really touched me in many ways...I never thought someone could find a way to write about the combination of tragedy and humor like Rodgers did...she just makes us see her journey thorugh cancer and how she survived it.
We all know (or at least have a idea) of how horrible chemo is.....Although nobody knows its effects that well as someone who has been through it...but at least we heard horrible things and Joni just found a way to express us how she suffered but in a sarcastic-funny way...which takes a lot of courage..especially when you talk about something as scary as having cancer.
Joni Rodgers also tells us about the conflicts with her kids...the way they reacted toward their mom's condition; the feeling of being a bald woman that screams out cancer; the mental and physical strugle, the relationship with her husband, etc.
This is a great book. I REALLY recommend it. This book has a meaning for cancer survivors, cancer victims and those who suffer with someone close who has cancer...my grandma has cancer but she chose not to have chemo because of the scary effects of it...
Anyway get Bald in the land of big hair...even if you are neither of the people I said...get this book...it gives you a insight into what cancer victims deal with.
vgxoxo@hotmail.com
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