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QUILLS & QUEUES Alice Hardesty shares healing memoir Comment By Angela Decker DailyTidings.com By Angela Decker Posted Jan. 15, 2015 at 6:25 PM By Angela Decker Posted Jan. 15, 2015 at 6:25 PM » RELATED CONTENT • 'Words & Wine': A perfect pairing • Community blog: Student Poetry Contest • Community blog: Ashland Sketches offers a wild mix of art • Community blog: Resolutions for writers » Social News When former Ashland City Councilor Alice Hardesty's husband, Jack, was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in the 1980s, they were told his case was “terminal” and that, at best, he had five years to live. Conventional methods failed to slow his decline, so the couple tried every alternative and complementary treatment they could. They traveled to Germany for experimental radiation therapy, and they worked with energy healers, spiritual healers, psychotherapists, nutritionists, and acupressurists. Jack tried vitamins, enzymes and even smoothies made with port wine and aloe vera. Something or everything worked, and Jack and Alice had 24 more years together before he ultimately died of a heart attack. While the story seems at first to be a triumphant tale of cancer survival, it unfolds more as a story of a troubled marriage and how the couple's united fight against cancer healed them in many ways.  Hardesty will read from and discuss her memoir, “An Uncommon Cancer Journey: The Cosmic Kick That Healed Our Lives,” at Bloomsbury Books from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22. She and her late husband lived in Ashland for many years, where they both served on the city council and where she wrote some of the book. When Jack Hardesty was first diagnosed with cancer, integrative medicine was not very popular, and it's a testament to their perseverance that they sought treatment outside the mainstream. She details their time at the Janker Klinik in Bonn, Germany, with fervent hope and a travel-writer's delight at the town. While most people would be hard-pressed to afford the travels and treatments they experienced, it is heartening to readers to know that alternatives exist and a terminal diagnosis is not always the end. In easy, conversational style, Hardesty writes candidly of troubles in her marriage that began almost from the start. Mixed expectations, hidden resentments, infidelity and alcoholism were problems the couple faced before Jack's diagnosis. They came together heroically to fight his cancer, and this brought them closer, but not all their problems went away. What is striking about the story is Hardesty's openness and her desire to show that one can be a caregiver to a spouse with cancer and still get angry with him, even be mean on occasion. She writes that she wants other caregivers to know that they are not alone, “They are not the only caregivers with socially unacceptable emotions.” In Hardesty's story, the cancer is both a growing evil in their lives and a catalyst for positive change. Hardesty intends her book to offer hope “that people with the worst kinds of cancers can be healed, even in non-traditional ways; and fate can sometime deal us a terrible hand which can actually turn out to be a miraculous blessing.” She writes that Jack referred to his illness as a “cosmic kick in the ass,” saying that in dealing with his cancer the couple was forced to face their own demons and open themselves to personal change and acceptance. It should be a pleasure to hear Hardesty read from her book. There's liveliness to her writing, a quiet humor that shines through, and a sincere desire to share not only her and husband's story, but to inspire hope in situations that seem nearly impossible to overcome. The reading is free and open to the public. Bloomsbury Books is at 290 E. Main Street in downtown Ashland. For more information, contact the bookstore at 541-488-0029 or [email protected]. The book will be available for purchase at the reading. Reach Ashland freelance writer Angela Decker at [email protected].   By Angela Decker DailyTidings.com By Angela Decker Posted Jan. 15, 2015 at 6:25 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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