Ballad of my Fearless Heroine

The author of several books, Vladimir Tsesis dedicated this work to millions of women heroically fighting the aggressive metastatic breast cancer. Under the pen of the writer, the “medical history” of his wife, Marina, turned into an exciting chronicle of stoic resistance to a fatal ailment, filled with not only happy findings of the peaceful flow of everyday life but also irreparable losses. Contrary to the forecasts of American experts who predicted Marina’s inevitable death in a few months, she lived for another fifteen years, a whole life, making a creative contribution to the lives of loved ones and without ceasing to express love for the whole family. Marina helped friends, was a volunteer at school, for several years helped her son prepare for publication of a huge collection of documents on the history of the Holocaust, lived an active social life, traveled a lot, continued to be fond of reading and music, willingly shared her impressions, and under no circumstances posed herself as a victim, although she had to constantly undergo cycles of challenging medical therapy. Truly, she lived every day as if it were her last, filling each day with the events and gifts of her new life, setting an example of resilience in life’s circumstances. The aggressive form of cancer could not force her to capitulate and break her morale. She lived for today and under no circumstances pretended to be a victim, and except for the last days of her life, she never lost control of the situation she was in.
Many books have been written about people who suffered from serious illnesses, but people who love and care for the sick also suffer. And the suffering of caregivers can be very deep. After a long period of introspection, the author compiled his “Program of Twelve Steps,” which helped him overcome the grief of loss.