Journey Toward Wholeness: A Spiritual Encounter With Prostate Cancer

By R. Carroll Stegall

Journey toward Wholeness is the story of Stegall's experience with prostate cancer. Stegall brings his gifts as a storyteller and his perspective as a person of faith to a work that informs and helps enable cancer-sufferers (especially men) and their families to better articulate their fears, anxieties, and hopes as they struggle through the experience. There are roughly 180,000 new cases of prostate cancer every year; Stegall's insights, however, apply to anyone who is coping with life-threatening diseases and conditions.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806645954
• ISBN13: 9780806645957
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Fortress Pr
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.8" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

What A Treat

I have found Journey Toward Wholeness very rewarding. I am truly impressed with Dr. Stegall's candor about such an intimate event and processes--probably the clearest and most honest I have read about anything so personal as this. I cried at times and laughed a lot, plus finding myself both educated and empathizing. Also, he writes well along with his honesty. I can learn much from him. Bruce Evans

Stalking the Wild PSA

After losing a close friend to prostate cancer and witnessing a cousin's battle with the disease, I tackled this book hoping that it would give me some notion of my odds of avoiding or at least surviving the disease. It did not disappoint.Stegall's book gives a clear picture of prostate cancer from a patient's point of view. Much to my surprise, I laughed out loud over the author's struggles with spells of diarrhea, incontinence, depression and impotence, and I empathized with his emotional and spiritual roller coaster rides. Once worried by my own temporary PSA result of 14, I found that the author's PSA had hit an astronomical 528 and he has survived. By literally baring his body and soul to the reader, Stegall provides a graphic, understandable guide to medical procedures that prostate cancer patients face. More importantly, by speaking candidly about his own dark night of the soul (and the parallel struggles of his wife and children), Stegall prepares the reader for war with a deadly, heartless, and frightening enemy and a world that seldom appreciates the depth of a patient's dilemma.After reading this book, I am much better prepared for what (my family history says) probably awaits me. With humor and verve, Stegall lifts the veil that has cloaked the disease. The book is chock full of helpful hints and references that any prostate disease patient would need. Some great advice for living comes as a bonus.Despite my fear of cancer, the book uplifted me. Perhaps that's because I share the author's interest in religion, music and education. More likely, it is because as a professional story teller, Stegall was well prepared to relate the tale of his battles.If you are a male, you should read this book. If you know a male, the same advice applies. I'm going to buy copies for my physicians's waiting room and for our church and public library. I'm sure that others will gain as much from the book as I did.- Gary Davis, Lincoln, Illinois

A Page-Turner

Stegall's book is honest, educational, painful and joyful. He gives a very personal portrayal of what it can be like for someone diagnosed with a potentially fatal disease. I recommend it highly.