This candid, funny account of coping with serious illness is a rallying cry for anyone facing a difficult situation. When she found herself diagnosed with brain cancer for the second time, Kristina Kotlus chose to quit on day one. But quitting didn’t mean giving up. It meant a whole new lease on life. Rejecting the impulse to worry or try to control things she couldn’t, resisting all the … control things she couldn’t, resisting all the advice to “fight” and be a “warrior,” she simply resolved to do what she could, admit she needed help (and lots of it), and put her faith in God. In this inspiring memoir, Kristina shares how she survived both diagnoses–with the support of her family, friends, and faith–in a relatable, funny way, from her original diagnosis to finding doctors to telling her kids (hint: make someone else do it). She shares openly and honestly, with just a touch of sarcasm and a heavy dose of humor and faith, and encourages readers to decide that it’s time to stand up, wash the tears off their face, and keep going.
more
In the beginning, I didn’t know why the book is called I Quit. But by the end, it was abundantly clear and I was quite surprised by it. From the get-go, I just want to say that I absolutely adored and resonated with Part Two of this book. It was not what I expected, having come out of the first part, but it spoke to everything that I am and made my heart soar. It reinforced so many beliefs that I hold dear, but had lost sight of. It was a great reminder and a beautiful ode to the power that resides outside of us and is in our reach when we have faith.
Of course, this book is relatable to health. But it’s also relatable to so many other circumstances. For example, my current situation is about pursuing dreams and stepping out of the old me to embrace a new destiny. I’m fully aware that it’s all bigger than me and that I need help. A lot of help. I can’t do it alone. I Quit has an important message for anyone who is dealing with something that feels insurmountable.
Now here are a few of my favorite parts and quotes from the book.
****(May contain spoilers!!!)****
“After Austin was told he was beautiful in an Irish accent,” made me laugh.
If anyone out there needs an idea to win money on Shark Tank, I’d like to suggest a giant spatula that connects to hospital beds and flips patients.
However, for me, there are too many coincidences to believe they all happened at random, and it’s hard to believe in good luck when you’re looking down the barrel of your own mortality.
So let’s start again, and let’s go over how this whole thing happened with God in the driver’s seat, and the lessons I was able to learn and the amazing faith moments that happened because I was willing to walk this path with God, even in the times I had to crawl.
While I was upset and definitely shed tears with my husband as we tried to wrap our minds around what was about to come, I had a supernatural sense of well-being in my soul that told me I could trust God to handle this situation, and so, rather than turning myself into a “warrior” or a “conqueror” or declaring on Facebook that I was going to “tackle,” “fight,” or “destroy” my tumor, I did the exact opposite.
I quit.
Quitting meant waving the white flag to God and letting Him know that I was fully aware this was too big for me to carry and that He was going to have to do it for me.
I walked smiling into brain surgery because I gave up my future to God. I gave up control to God. I gave up thinking I could heal myself or fix myself or do anything for myself to God.
Stress comes from not believing God is big enough to fill in my gaps.
I told God I would give Him what I had, which was to show up. He was going to have to do everything else because I was just totally incapable. He was going to have to be the Father in a big way.
I knew quitting and surrendering to God’s will could mean any of a number of outcomes, but I also knew having peace with His control and His will meant I was allowing His power to be made perfect in my weakness, and as you’ve read in this story, I was very weak.
When it is abundantly clear that we are incapable of something, God is able to really show off what He can do.
I have always struggled with self worth (me too!).
I had to go back and not expect the outcome I wanted to the point of exhausting myself with worry because it wasn’t going to change anything, and because God, unlike me, has a plan that goes all the way to the end of time.
Thank You Kristina. This book was a really important read for me and came just at the right time!
I’ve never read a book like this one and even though it is non-fiction, which, honestly, I do not read very often, I could not put it down. The author, Kristina Kotlus, tells of her experience of surviving brain cancer with honesty and humor and sarcasm.
Ms. Kotlus divided the book into two parts: part one is Here’s What We’re Working With and part two is How’d We Get Through This? The first part is her story with the God part deliberately left out so, as she says, it could be read by anyone. But she encourages the reader at the end of the first part to keep reading, to learn the rest of the story, with the God lens applied.
My favorite chapter in this book was the one entitled, My Friend Has Cancer and I Don’t Want to Suck: A General Guide. Here Kristina tells what people said to her and what they shoulda/coulda have said. She also gave examples of what to DO and DO NOT if you want to help someone with cancer (like the one person who showed up unannounced and wanted Kristina woken up so this person could visit with her: BTW that is a DO NOT). Ultimately, Kristina desires to give hope to those dealing with cancer through the telling of her story. I so very highly recommend this book as who hasn’t, except for the very young, had a friend or acquaintance or family member have cancer. I received a copy of this book from the author. I am freely writing a review – all thoughts and opinions are my own.