There are so many things that are worse than death: old grudges, a lack of self-awareness, severe constipation, no sense of humor, the grimace on your husband’s face as he empties your surgical drain into the measuring cup.”
-- The Author (Narration)   (Prologue)

Importance: As the author introduces her memoir of living with cancer, here she introduces a facet of her central perspective that is never explicitly addressed, but which is implied throughout the book - that when one is ill and / or dying, there is still much more to life, both bad things and good.

All the warfare jargon around cancer – the battling, the surviving, the winning/losing, the kicking its ass – hasn’t been ringing true for me. But I’m good with not letting it crack me. ‘I will be the densest little nut in the world,’ I say to John. ‘Green and unyielding. A squirrel’s effing nightmare.’
-- The Author (Narration, / Dialogue) (Section 2 – The Poetry Fox)

Importance: In this quote...