Rating: 
Summary: Upbeat, humorous look at the horrors of cancer...
Review: Surprisingly upbeat book, considering the subject matter. Ms. Sweeney has a knack for seeing the humor in not-so-humorous situations. The only negative...that this book was so short! Hope to see more from her in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Therapeutic and Funny Too...
Review: There's two types of humor, in my opinion. There's surface humor: that's slapstick, the Farrely brothers, Jim Carrey (most of the time), Airplane!, and Carrottop. Then there's deeper humor, that can be funny on the surface, but has something deeper beneath it: The Cohen Brothers, Being John Malkovich, Catch-22, George Carlin...you get the idea.Julia Sweeny's one-woman-show-turned-movie (produced by Quentin Tarantino) is that second type of humor; deeper, and funny in a way that not only makes you smile on the outside but (pardon the cheesiness) also smile on the inside. This show/movie, "God Said Ha!", is basically the story of how her brother got cancer (lymphoma) and moved in with her, so she could take care of him. Pretty soon after, their parents move in with them, and Julia Sweeny does a great job of immitating her mother in such a way that we laugh, but also recognize the truth in her recreation. Some of what Julia discusses is terribly upsetting; like when her brother has to have a spiget-like thing installed in his head so they can get the medicine directly into his cranium. But her brother retains his humor throughout this terrible experience, and after the doctor tells him that everyone who gets the-spiget thing in their head really loves it, he goes around the house saying, "I absolutely LOVE my (i forget what its called!)." (It's a lot of funnier when Julia tells it). Recently, my mom's really good friend Stephanie had to have a tumor the size of a honeydew removed. I told my mom to tell Stephanie to rent this movie, because it's a lesson in how to use humor to get through life's most awful situations. So if you have a few dollars to spare, or just need some cheering up, make "God Said Ha!" your next movie purchase.
Rating:
Summary: A reminder that life is really what you make of it.
Review: This book is a truly wonderful reminder that life is really what you make of it. Ms. Sweeney went through a year that was tragic both for herself and the people she loves. She does not deny the pain of these experiences but appears to have gained insight and appreciation for herself and life (even though it appears she had a great deal of this before her horrendous ordeal). I would like to thank her very much for sharing. I hope she feels very rewarded that there are many of us out here that will now remember Mike as well.
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