Then Came Life: Living with Courage, Spirit, and Gratitude After Breast Cancer

Written by Geralyn Lucas

Narrated by Geralyn Lucas

The author of Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy dares all women who have had a stumble in life to harness their fighting spirit and stand back up with courage and optimism. One mastectomy, two C-sections, three pant's sizes, and lots of red lipstick later, Geralyn Lucas is dealing with the same issues as other women her age. Her miracle babies have grown into a typical tween with a fierce eye-roll for her mom's failings and a tornado of a little boy who won't play by his preschool's rules. Her storybook romance with her husband has spiraled into couples therapy and her perfect-if-demanding corporate job as a TV producer has abandoned her for L.A. When she looks in the mirror at her hard-won wrinkles, all she wants is Botox. Celebrating her sweet sixteen cancerversary she's thankful for her second chance and ready to be daring-but can she survive life's new ups and downs with the same courage she's always had? With an infectiously hilarious voice and a true sense of empowerment, Geralyn harnesses her fighting spirit to live life loudly and lustily, and to grab on to all the moments that might never have happened. Knowing she can only pedal forward, she mines every day for boldness, joy, and gratitude, and eventually falls in love with life again. Then Came Life is not just for cancer survivors; it's for life survivors - a call to rediscover the resilience and optimism it takes to reinvent yourself at any age.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 2, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490650111

Geralyn Lucas

Geralyn Lucas is a Columbia University School of Journalism graduate and was an editorial producer at 20/20 for ABC News for seven years before becoming a director of original programming at Lifetime Television. She is also a proud member of Lifetime’s Stop Breast Cancer for Life initiative. She lives in New York City with her husband, Tyler, and her daughter, Skye. She never leaves home without lipstick. Visit Lucas at www.whyiworelipstick.com.

Reviews for Then Came Life

[bobyworry-346048 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyable...the guy is a character...the love and respect he has for the animals comes across...

[lilac_lily01 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to love this book but found it really hard to finish. The beginning of it was still interesting but then the story just dragged on and got boring. There just wasn't enough "meat" to the story to keep me engaged. Sorry to say, but I would not recommend this book.

[aya8herron · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The journey from cancer diagnosis to treatment to survival is different for each patient. Geralyn Lucas has lived under the shadow of cancer for nearly two decades. With lipstick as her shield, she has endured it all to come out on the other side with two miracle babies, a supportive husband, and a “normal” everyday life. Lucas writes with brutal honesty and humor as she describes everything from preschool interviewing and potty training to interacting with her mean tween daughter and couples counseling. Meanwhile, she must face her fears as people important to her face their own battles with cancer. As the years go by, Lucas learns to move beyond the fear of a cancer recurrence and really embrace life.

The Bottom Line: This is a very quick read. Nonetheless, it is repetitive in several spots. For example, there were several references to the challenges of putting on Spanx and the quest for Botox. Each chapter is an essay from a different point in her life, and it is the last few chapters of this book that make it a worthwhile read. Readers will laugh and cry along with the author. Fans of the author's first book, Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy, will want to pick up a copy. Also, recommended for anyone who has survived an illness and is struggling to move forward. Readers interested in mother-daughter relationships would enjoy this book as well.

[bekilynn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This positive look back after surviving breast cancer will touch your heart. Geralyn Lucas faces life after cancer with grace and humor and faith that she survived for a reason. Her emotional outlook as she continues to raise her children, work and then not work, and face cancer again in the lives of those she loves is more than inspiring. It makes you want to be just like her if you are ever in that position in your own life. Great read.

[pwagner2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fast paced, funny and touching. I Loved this book!

[rtroth_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have to admit even though I selected this book when it came I was at first a bit disappointed thinking ugh another breast cancer book. Being a 2 year survivor I wasn't in the mood. BUT I was very pleasantly surprised with this book. Obviously its is set around her life with and after breast cancer but she tells so much more and the stories of her life are so interesting. I especially loved when they went on preschool interviews, having small children myself I could relate and was cracking up at the stories! I really enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it to others!

[glendalea_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have not read Geralyn Lucas' previous book, Why I Wore Lipstick to my Mastectomy, but I am now eager to get my copy to compliment her newest memoir, Then Came Life. Then Came Life is wonderfully written, dealing with everyday life with the spectre of cancer always lingering in the background (will it return? How will it affect my children?). At times, I felt that she was going through "survivor's guilt," but she seemed to try to find the positive in everything, given her "second chance." Some funny moments, but be sure to have some kleenex handy as well.

[tjsjohanna_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This memoir documents the journey away from fear and towards life. While Ms. Lucas has survived breast cancer and taken some leaps of faith towards living her life, she is still battling with fear. If she loves life too much, will it be taken from her? but if she doesn't love it, what has she gained with her survival? Watching the author fully claim her life, discarding fear, is both funny and touching.

[pammycats · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I received this book as an early reviewer.
I read the last half of the book on a plane and couldn't stop crying. I'm sure the lady across the aisle from me thought I was unhinged. I've given myself a week to calm down and feel ready to review this amazing book.
The book is a series of essays with a theme and storyline running through.
The early chapters focus on her past (breast cancer fight, survival, a determination to appreciate life, her miracle babies, her amazing husband).
Then we enter the present (wrinkles, sagging body parts, weight gain, adolescent and slightly mean daughter, strangled and non-romantic marriage, loss of identity after job loss). Many of the struggles are familiar. Ms. Lucas writes very honestly without fear. This connects her and her stories in a very visceral way. By this point in the book I felt a bond with her.
The final third of the book is the star. Her chapters flow so beautifully and convey strong emotion and experiences as if I were talking to a friend. I don't want to reveal story points here but I can say that the author faces a crises. Through this crises she learns that even though she has been struggling to appreciate life (after battling cancer) she was really holding back from life - protecting herself from hurt. She needed to embrace her life (be prepared for pain and disappointment) to find joy.
Buy this book so you can read it again and again when all the drudgeries of life get you down. Always live your life with joy. Finally, wear an amazing "look at me" red lipstick.

[emr093 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I'm an Early Reviewer and was sent this title. This is an uplifting description of the author's life after a mastectomy at age 27. She has become the mother of a lovely daughter named Skye and she shares stories of their wonderful times together and of her attitude. So far, so good. But she repeats every point she makes two or three times before moving on, and the book is overly long. For example, she spends two pages describing the pulling on of her Spanks. I'm sorry, Geralyn, but there are so many books and so little time.

[ouladybird2005 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was fortunate enough to be able to read an advance copy of Then Came Life, and I wish I could give it 5 stars. That being said I think that anyone who read Why I Wore Lipstick to Mastectomy will probably enjoy this book a lot more than I have. This book is formatted in such a way that we get to see snapshots from Geralyn’s perspective on relationships with those in her family, people who she has worked with, fellow breast cancer survivors and her husband. Each essay has (at least I think) a different audience and I, myself as a reader audience didn’t connect with Geralyn until page 60. There were times that the writing almost seemed forced, while other essays later in the book seemed to flow off the page. The ‘I’ chapters were the most difficult for me to feel a kinship with the writer. I should also say that as someone who also feels like their body is a ticking bomb (fibromyalgia), the chapters discussing her insecurities were hit and miss for me, good days are treasured and not everyone feels that their value is based on having the flashiest consumables or a killer butt. That being said I did feel that the second half of Then Came Life, Geralyn hit her stride and had me hooked. I wish that the chapters could be in a different order perhaps bringing the chapter about her relationship with her mother and daughter up to the front and making the start be more positive. All around, this was a good, but not great book, I appreciated the positive stories, but the negatives made me feel like I was reading about a ‘consumer’ rather than someone who was sharing their life in an inspirational way. To be frank I might be willing to read something else by the author, but I won’t necessarily go out of my way to do so.