How Cancer Can Change Your Worldview

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How Cancer can Change Your Worldview
By Lukas Perdekamp
            Recently I finished reading The Unwinding of the Miracle by Julie Yip-Williams. This book is an autobiography focusing on all of life’s struggles that face Yip-Williams. It begins by discussing her life in Vietnam where she was born. She was born in South Vietnam with blindness, her paternal grandmother thought she was an embarrassment to their family, so she planned to poison her. Yip-Williams only narrowly escaped death, and at the age of three went with her family to Los Angles. In America she was able to attend the Williams College of Massachusetts and get a bachelor’s degree in English and Asian studies. Afterwards she graduated from Harvard and worked at Clearly Gottlieb Law Firm. She then was diagnosed with colon cancer which affected her life drastically as she could not do many activities she was previously able to do.
Image result for the unwinding of the miracle
            Julie Yip-Williams was plagued with many difficulties throughout her life, yet she was still able to become successful. She describes this experience throughout the book in many places, for example she states, “Walk through the fire and you will emerge on the other end, whole and stronger. I promise.” Yip-Williams shows how you can work your way through many troubles but one problem she faced she could never rid herself of was cancer. This was especially frustrating for her as she could do nothing herself to improve her condition. For example, she could no longer play with her children or go to their instrument lessons which affected their relationship strongly.
            One idea that I noticed when I read The Unwinding of the Miracle is how Yip-Williams’ cancer allowed her to expand her world outlook. As her condition became worse, she explained how she was able to see how one must live life in the moment and do what you truly want to. She states, “Live while you’re living, friends.” This quote is short, but shows how she feels after she knows that she only has limited time left in her life. Her transformation really inspires me to be more active myself and shows how much someone’s world outlook can change.
            The Unwinding of the Miracle to me was a unique book for two reasons. The first being that such a hard-working person suddenly was faced with a problem they were unable to manage. The second is how Yip-Williams can cope with her cancer by adjusting her worldview to accommodate her new life. I would recommend this book to anybody who enjoys learning about other people’s experiences.

Comments

  1. Florence LinApril 3, 2020 at 1:55 PM

    This book sounds very interesting and Julie Yip-Williams sounds like a very admirable woman. I think you did a good job of giving some of her backstory in the beginning of the blog post and expanding on how her cancer affected her life. I also really liked the quotes you included that reflected her wisdom and outlook on life. This book seems very eye opening and I will have to check it out sometime.

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  2. Sam May 13, 2020 at 7:59 AM

    I like how in this book they focus on how you can have a positive outlook on life even in bad circumstances (which is very meta). I also like how this book is a true story and can be used as a reference for how to think and behave in order to get the outcomes you want.Overall this is one of the more interesting books I have read blog posts for.

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