Living with a Hog on my Back

By Quincy Quay

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1891231448
• ISBN13: 9781891231445
• Release Date: June 2001
• Publisher: Word Association Publishers
• Length: 126 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Honest Vulnerability Can Heal Another's Suffering Spirit

After finishing this book, I came to several conclusions. There's nothing wrong with an individual expressing complete vulnerability in an effort to help themselves...and more importantly others. It is often times a display of that nature that forces the rest of us "who watch" to confront our own deepest needs and address our own darkest fears. In a courageous assessment of her own human suffering: physical, emotional, and spiritual; Michele will challenge the reader to find the inner meaning of one's own personal struggle and hardship. This book is as much inspirational as it is gutsy. Somehow, it will also make you laugh at yourself as you wonder why we take ourselves so seriously over absolutely the most meaningless trivial pursuits in our day-to-day lives. This book will help us to re-evaluate what is important - that nothing is guaranteed in this life, and that loving relationships can save others from the hells of personal torment. Well done Shelley. This was a great effort and I appreciate your heart. The best is yet to come.

An Inspirational Personal Account

After reading Living With A Hog On My Back, one should never feel sorry for themself ever again. Rather than accepting defeat at the mercy of breast cancer and multiple sclerosis, Michelle Hays chose not to surrender. She has experienced discomfort well beyond what most of us can imagine in one lifetime.Her husband, Tom, has been dedicated to unending support both physically and emotionally. The author relates her family history in tracing the origins of her illnesses. She has, and will continue to successfully fight this battle for the remainder of her life.Highly recommended inspirational reading!

Review for Living with a Hog on my Back

Living With A Hog On My Back"WHICH ONE OF YOU ANCIENT, DECREPIT, DECEASED CULPRITS GAVE ME THESE ROTTEN GENES ?" screams Michele Hayes from her book, Living With A Hog On My Back. Michele, who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in the summer of 1989 and the first of two breast cancer diagnoses at age 39, answers this rant with an examination of the good and the bad that she is a product in her autobiography. In the midst of all this physical calamity, Michele embarked upon her family geneaology to unearth the reason for her physical frailty and strength of spirit. Michele, a long time resident of Highland Park, was able to discuss her autobiography with me on a sunny Saturday morning in October. As we got acquainted, Michele apologized for not getting in contact with me sooner due to a recent hysterectomy because of uterine cancer. I sat in amazement at her casual approach to all the ailments that had plagued her. The casual approach did not strike me as a denial but a resolve to tackle these ailments and survive. I entered her world knowing she had an important story of self-preservation that could give others inspiration. Michele writes a witty, smooth story that juxtaposes her journey through life with tales of her ancestors. Her life might resemble yours as she depicts her love of archaeology, her ups and downs as an office worker and graduate student, and the enduring support of Tom, her husband. But reality hits when she precisely defines her MS and BC diagnoses and treatments, the death of her brother in law from diabetes, and the spiritual and emotional anguish that chronic illnesses carry. Her survival with dignity, humor, and determination are attributed to the genetics of ancestors who had strong minds "Using the fine example of Mother raising me and seeing her struggles after my father’s death, coupled with observation of others emotionally strong female family members, gives credence to my fight." Living With A Hog On My Back is authored by Quincy Quay. Michele explained this is her pen name, as a tribute to her father, Quincy Quay, who died of a cerebral hemorrhage when she was a young girl. In an excerpt from her book Michele writes, My father dies, in my 14th year, a ray of sun in a dark room, a Grandfather not dead, not buried, and Harlem’s (town character) bent, dark, shadowy frame in the night. This was some of my childhood. And, it was all welling to a certain, imminent fate. For over the last twelve years, it’s as if I’ve been thrown over an apex by some scathing, murderous mob, left only to hobble down a dimly lit, nightmarish road, With no way station or solace in sight, I’m forced to lay out the playing cards I carry in my hands. Is it God who controls the "laying of the hands"?Living With A Hog On My Back is a book of the endurance and adaptability of the human spirit. Michele Hayes’ ability to reach out to others is appropriate for all readers seeking inspiration in humanity. She believes, "Accepti