Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding Novel
Review: Dear Stranger, Dearest Friend written by Laney Katz Becker is an engaging novel about two women who communicate by e-mail regarding their experiences with breast cancer. The two friends became great support systems for each other providing feedback about breast cancer and their family experiences. It is a fast reading novel. You don't want to put the book down. Laney Katz Becker did experience cancer and her book is very descriptive. This is not just a novel for people with cancer or for someone who knows someone with cancer, it is a book for all.
Rating:
Summary: Wow....this story blew me away
Review: I picked this book up because the format intrigued me. The story deals with the email relationship formed between Lara and Susan who meet at an online bulletin board for breast cancer. Susan is a survivor, and Lara has just found a lump. What happens is an online email relationship between the 2 women, that is supportive and close, although they have never met in person. These two help each other through some very difficult times in their lives with support, humor and advice. When they finally meet, it is not in the most ideal circumstances. I loved this book and am recommending it to all of my friends. I belong to a number of online communities, and this book shows that even though the web is full of "faceless" people, they can become your support system and close friends.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover
Review: I read the hard cover edition of this book and just loved it. I have a good friend with advanced breast cancer and think this book does a wonderful job of weaving in important information in an engaging story. It really captures the fear, the waiting, the frustrations, but also the lighter moments and incredible love and support of family and friends in the battle against breast cancer. I read it in one day and immediately wanted to buy a copy for my friend, but was disappointed to see that the paperback version has such a gloomy cover. The sunny yellow cover of the hardback edition is so much more appealing and better fits the message of the book. I wonder why they changed it?
Rating:
Summary: Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover
Review: I read this book for a monthly discussion group and it was a good one to discuss with other women. I learned a lot about breast cancer and peripheral topics. It stirred up a lot of emotion and debate about what one would do in this situation and how to handle it, particularly with a family. I hope I never find out. I recommend it highly to anyone, especcially any women. Some may find the style of writing, and reading e-mails tedious, but I didn't mind it so much.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book for a discussion group.
Review: I read this book for a monthly discussion group and it was a good one to discuss with other women. I learned a lot about breast cancer and peripheral topics. It stirred up a lot of emotion and debate about what one would do in this situation and how to handle it, particularly with a family. I hope I never find out. I recommend it highly to anyone, especcially any women. Some may find the style of writing, and reading e-mails tedious, but I didn't mind it so much.
Rating:
Summary: Truly a book about friendship
Review: I really enjoyed reading Dear Stranger, Dearest Friend. It was a fast read. I thought that the relationship between Lara (rhymes with Sarah) and Susan was wonderfully written. You got to know both of these women very well. I felt as though I was right there, reading their emails with them. It was a wonderful thing to see how supportive Susan was because she had been through it before. These two women forged a bond between themselves that was remarkable for having never met. I highly recommend this book. It's a good example of friendship and support. It makes you think about things--how, for example, you would deal with a prognosis such as Lara's. Susan was there, sharing anecdotes and being there for her throughout everything. I cried at the end of the book. I'd definately recommend a box of kleenex at your side when you read this. If it wasn't for the inconvenience of having to go to work, I would have read this book in a day or less. It is THAT good!
Rating:
Summary: A Friendship Is Born Online
Review: I suppose this novel is remarkable on one level for its thoughtful but not heavy-handed treatment of breast cancer. I notice other reviewers have devoted considerable words to that aspect. However, where I think this book has carved itself a new niche in mainstream fiction is that it shows us the slow but gradual evolution of a friendship and its coming to full flower in the online world. We've certainly read a great deal about sexual messes men and women have gotten themselves into online. This writer, however, focuses on something a lot quieter taking place and arguably more powerful. This is the formation of lifelong relations with others through a medium of communication which never existed before. In a way, these two women are the Lewis & Clark of exploring life in the cyber world. Is it possible to form a completely life altering, life bonding relationship without physically being in the presence of another? We knew from history that a few achieved it with letters and now we can see how it can be born again and again around the world over the internet via email. If you are reading this, you are already on the internet and you, therefore, should read this book. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A great must-read for everyone
Review: In her poignant, honest and at times startling story of two women and their unlikley, burgeoning friendship, Laney Katz Becker enlightens, informs, uplfits and entertains. Her fictionalized account of two strangers who meet on line for support is funny, sensitive, heartbreaking, warming and honest. This is a book all men and women must read. For women undergoing treatment, they can read it to feel support throughout the crisis of breast cancer and feel understood and validated. For survivors this is a novel that can become a cherished friend. For the families of survivors and women in tretament, this book offers unparalelled insights into the candor and emotional and physical upheaval of women touched by cancer. For anyone of any age looking for a great book about friendship, family and loyalty, this is it. The excellent choice of Ms. Becker to use e-mail conversations as a way to chart the growth of the friendship, makes the information accessible to everyone and offers the reader spontaneous humor and raw emotion more difficult to portray in narrative form. I applaud this amazing new author and am anxious to see more from her in the future. "Dear Stranger, Dearest Friend" is one of the best books I have read in a long. long time. I congratulate Ms. Becker on her wit, talent and strength. I am hoping to see much more of her work in the future. And I am recommending this book to everyone I know. This is a great book club choice that would prompt honest, intelligent discussion.
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Summary: Cyber breast cancer buddies - the best of both worlds!
Review: Just as Dr. Love's book is the bible for women with breast cancer, this novel is sure to become a classic read for all survivors. Lara and Sue are opposites, yet they share a common bond of breast cancer. The Internet allows these two strangers to develop a deep personal friendship, as many of us have done online. I stayed up till 2 AM to finish this book and I mailed it immediately to my best BC buddy online, Flora. This book will have you laughing out loud (LOL), crying real tears and nodding in agreement and understanding. This is probably one of the few books that the unitiated can also read and enjoy. The joke about a mammogram is worth the purchase of the book all by itself.
Rating:
Summary: An inspiring story of friendship
Review: Laney Katz Becker has written a marvelous book! This epistolary novel is composed of e-mails between two women in different parts of the country who *meet* on an online breast cancer message board. At the beginning of the novel, Susan, who lives in Ohio, is in remission after being diagnosed with breast cancer three years earlier, while Lara, in a suburb of New York, has just found a lump and is in the process of having a biopsy to determine what it is and what treatment she will have. In a panic, she signs on to a cancer message board and then e-mails Susan with her many questions and fears. The book traces the correspondence between these two very different women whose common problem allows them to find strength in and through each other. Lara's search for a definitive diagnosis is a revealing look at the frightening and startling scenarios that face women with this disease. This is an uplifting story of friendship in the face of adversity, offering insight into the turmoil of a cancer diagnosis. The author, a breast cancer survivor herself, has written a book that every woman should read. She includes a good list of breast cancer resources at the end of the book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about this terrible cancer and read a story of a great friendship and caring.
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