Mom's Marijuana: Insights about Living

By Dan Shapiro and W.E. Washington, George) Woodward

Book Overview

Dan Shapiro's mother was always an avid gardener who tortured her neighbors with excessive quantities of zucchini, squash, and tomatoes. When Dan was twenty years old, he was diagnosed with cancer. Leaving Vassar to move home with his parents, he informed them that he'd learned marijuana would help him endure the unpleasant side effects of chemotherapy. His vehemently anti-drug mother was certain smoking dope would lead to his ruin. He argued. She countered. He gave up. Then suddenly she came around and gave him money to buy the pot he needed. But when he returned with the small Baggie, she was incredulous. She held out her hand and said, "Give me the seeds." Eleven-foot-high marijuana plants, at first coyly hidden by a row of sunflowers, soon towered over the backyard. It would be nine years before Dan, by then a parent himself, would fully understand the powerful forces behind his mother's decision to plant those seeds in her garden. At times hilarious, but always intimate, honest, and luminous, Mom's Marijuana takes us from Dan's first diagnosis to his second relapse, to -- finally -- sustained, thriving health. Whether it's the decision to paint himself green to frighten his mother after radiation treatment, fighting to survive while surrendering to love with an oncology nurse, or learning the meaning of life and family from events once taken for granted, Dan Shapiro tells his story with a wit and grace that made him a favorite on National Public Radio's All Things Considered. Mom's Marijuana takes us on a literary skinny dip; exposed, cold, and raw, we're plunged into a compulsively, almost obsessively readable account of life with cancer and the exuberant redemption of health. Mom's Marijuana shows us that it's when the pulse and rhythm of life are stirred violently that we're made to learn the beauty of multitudes, of finding what it is that makes us so brutally vulnerable, plain, and godly all at once.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0609605690
• ISBN13: 9780609605691
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: Harmony
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.7" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Read it or you'll miss out on this jewel.

I picked this book up in the biography section of my library.I was about to have my knee operated on and wondered if I could find a good book to read during the days in bed not moving. Well, I was moved by this book.It is one of the best books I have ever read. You almost feel like you know Dan through his setbacks and triumphs.You'll laugh. You'll cry. You will fall in love with this wonderful book.

A life-changing experience.

You might think that the title of my review refers to this man's life changing experience, but in fact I'm speaking of the life changing experience that has been reading this book. Dan Shapiro truly is a brilliant man and he wrote a complex, insightful book. I think the title is misleading, but the story more than makes up for it. It's almost as if the book is interactive; it makes you think back about many things, and can be very humorous at times. When he said he knew his daughter wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for his mother's talking to a stranger, it took me a while to realize he was talking about the woman in that first waiting room telling his mother to save sperm. I like that, that way that Daniel Shapiro has about writing this book. It was one of my favorite books, if not my favorite book, that I have ever read, and I would absolutely love to see a sequel of some sort. (This is the kind of book that once you're finished reading you feel like you've known the author all your life and you wish to meet him.)

"Death Be Not Proud" on Pot

A book in which a guy narrates the various stages of his harrowing medical ordeal shouldn't be this entertaining. I started reading and found I didn't want to stop. It's warm, amusing, wise, playful and filled with laugh out loud moments -- without a trace of bathos or self pity. This is not a book I would have chosen on my own. I received it as a gift. Now that I have read it, I would recommend it highly to anyone.

great read

I hid the title cover from my young children but the book was never more than an arm's length away until I finished every last page--even the acknowledgements! Dan's poignant and personal story put a powerful face on a dreadful illness. I loved the essay that was an ode to his dad's music. Throughout the book there are just gorgeous snapshots at life. A captivating and humorous read and I highly recommend it.

Read this book!

If you know someone that is or has suffered through cancer treatment, you owe it to yourself to read this well-written first-hand autobographical portrayal of Dan's personal story. Even if you don't know someone that has gone through the experience, this book is a must read.At times I laughed out loud at Dan's Woody Allen-like wit, other times I found myself in a dazed stupor wondering how anyone could go through what he went through. His characterizations are heart-warming, his attention to detail is splendid, I am amazed at how vividly he was able to tell his story.Mom's Marijuana is a fast read with many short chapters (similar to the many Chicken Soup books). However, all of these short chapters weave an intricate trail in chronological order (for the most part) from Dan's breif discussions of his youth through the finer details of cancer treatment.This book educated and inspired me. It also raised my understanding of a terrible disease to new heights. Do yourself a favor, stop reading this review and just buy the darned book. You will not regret it. You da money man, Dan.