I usually write a super emotional blog post about my fight with cancer to pull at your heartstrings so you’ll sponsor me for the Terry Fox Run. But after losing my mom to cancer this year, I just haven’t got the emotional energy to write another damn post about what this deadly disease has taken from me. Please sponsor me anyway: https://run.terryfox.ca/page/raquelrich This year I run in memory of my mother, Antonia Sales Rios. Te amo, mãe.
“You have a better chance of winning the lottery than you do of having this cancer,” my doctor said as he read over my x-ray results. “And besides, this type of bone cancer is only diagnosed in seniors.” Those words were meant to reassure me. And he was right. Only six people across Canada were diagnosed with the same bone cancer as me that year, and every single one of them was an old fart. I have since become an avid lottery player. In the medical community, my doctor’s attitude wasn’t the exception, it was the rule. Because of my […]
I’m just going to come out and say it. I am not white. Neither is Grace Dartmouth (often times). Eight years ago, when I started writing my first novel, Hamartia, I made an important choice about how I would depict the main character in any story I ever write. But I told no one about what I did (or rather, didn’t do) which made my bold statement seem more like a sneaky decision. And the result blew up in my face. What did I do (not do)? If you look at Hamartia’s cover, you’ll notice that the running woman has […]
While bingeing Jane the Virgin on Netflix, hubby’s hand brushed against my arm, the cancer one that’s mostly for show. Caught off guard, I flinched. “Ouchie! My arm!” I whined. I’m not used to having my arm fondled by him. He knows better. My knight in shining armour, hubby-the-great, is a pro at shielding me from potential arm-bumpers. From years of practice, he skillfully elbows through crowded rooms and festivals for me, forging a berth wide enough for the Titanic to sail through. So when he pulled back and said, “Sorry, sometimes I forget” my heart sank. He forgot? Bummed, […]
I have Multiple Sclerosis. This is my diagnosis story. When my chatty neurologist told me “you have MS” I shrugged and said, “Well, how bad can it be? I’ve had cancer. At least MS won’t kill me.” We stared at each other for a few moments in awkward silence. He adjusted his glasses and eyed me with concern, waiting for me to breakdown or something, and I glared back, tapping my foot, waiting for him to just get on with it. My prize for winning the staring competition was a stack of pamphlets neuro-guy slid over to me as he […]
I survived bone cancer. Although facing your mortality at 26 isn’t anything I’d wish on anyone, if there was a way to turn the perspective it forces upon you into a potion, I’d bottle it up and hand samples out on every street corner. Keep in mind that the perspective isn’t the same for everyone. Surviving is an experience and its effects vary as much as the people do. For me, these are the two most important lessons bone cancer forced me to learn the hard way: Stop deferring good times. I was twenty-six and had seven years left on […]
Sadie is my bluetick coonhound. I love Sadie. She’s an awesome dog. But she is also a murderer; A coldblooded bunny killer. I knew that cats brought mice home to their owners as gifts. But I had no idea dogs did the same. One spring day, Sadie brought her pack leaders (us) a gift. Hubby and I spotted Sadie overjoyed and waggy tailed doing circles around her bed. When we went to scope out what she was so proud of, we saw it. At first, we thought it was a dead mouse in her bed. But upon closer inspection, to […]
Like most new writers, I wrote my book while juggling life. For me, life was a fun full-time career, an awesome family, and a long list of cool friends. In May 2016, however, the thing that ate up a huge chunk of my time came to an abrupt end: my career. And when you’ve worked in the same place for as long as I had, it felt more like a marriage unravelling than a job ending. In my case, the uncoupling was not only amicable, it was welcomed. Let me take you back to when my love affair with the […]
This top ten list contains answers to the questions I am most frequently asked. Some people ask me quite boldly. Others hint and ask questions surrounding the topic. Note to the hinters – I know what you’re really asking me; sometimes I mess with you and deliberately evade your hints (I get a kick out of doing that). I’m a teenage mom. I had my first son when I was 16 and my second son when I was 19. Yes, I married the guy who fathered both my babies. We’ve been together since I was 15. I’m a high school […]