An Extraordinary Tale of Courage and the Will to Live
Ordinary Valor is not a textbook about prostate cancer or the psychology
of coping, although you'll find author Robert Mignone's thoughts on both.
It's not a philosophical discourse on the philosophy of faith or the existence
of God, although Mignone does talk a lot about his experience of the power
of faith. Rather, Ordinary Valor invites the reader to witness one man's
journey (twice) of coping with the dark reality of cancer. Mignone writes:
"Because my story has been ordinary, I've come to regard my experience as remarkable (even spectacular) because I've seen how it has reflected the marvelous journeys of gazillions of men and women as they've worked and loved and managed their lives as best they could and all the while no one but their intimates knowing anything of their heartaches. They've attended PTA meetings, grooved at concerts, visited families, and showed up at work every day with their game faces on and never received a medal or a news story. That's amazing. All over the world, people are quietly winning gold medals of the heart. That's the human grit, which more than ever brings tears of admiration to my eyes. Celebrities or even unsung heroes may be entertaining and sometimes inspirational, but even more awesome is every man's bouncing back. To me, they're all heroes and heroines."
What is Ordinary Valor?
Anything but ordinary.....Ordinary Valor: How Prostate Cancer Saved My Life is the true life story of a man, a doctor, and a psychiatrist who all happen to be one and the same, and his journey from a cancer diagnosis to his recovery. The story in between these two points is an absorbing look into one man's real life stuation, his conflicting emotions, his fears, his doubts, his determination to live and the "life" taking place around him.
He writes openly and honestly about his concerns with telling his family and friends, his worry about supporting his medical practice and its employees during his treatment and his humility at having this major disease strike him when he thought he was doing everything "right".
Dr. Mignone candidly tells the reader about possible treatments, their side effects and his own choices and how it affected him. He shows his embarrassment at having to make frequent bathroom trips and how he coped with it. He writes about the emotional roller coaster and each new revelation of what life truly means.
Ordinary Valor was recently honored as a winner of the 2008 EVVY award.