The Way I Walk: From Tugboat to Transplant (Signed!) [B0406]

2014 Signed PB. With the waterways and mist-covered mountains of Southeast Alaska as backdrop, Cathy Cuenin (1949-2022) invites the reader into her own very personal story. You will find it easy to immerse yourself in her memoir as she takes you back and forth between her early years in Alaska, living aboard tugboats, and her later challenges with a life-threatening illness and lung transplant. Cuenin's adventuresome Alaskan life is turned upside down in one moment when she is suddenly unable to catch her breath. In 1997, she is diagnosed with a disease that will rob her of all breath, Lymphangioleiomyomatosis, or LAM. In clear and heart-felt language, Cuenin takes the reader along on her medical journey. She eloquently expresses the reality of pain, fear, and falling...and then standing up, healing, and cherishing. Learn how one woman comes to grips with leaving the land she loves and meets the challenge of life slipping away.

From Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Inspiring is such a worn word and yet it is well described in this small book. Both travel log and spiritual guide, it journeys through Southeast Alaska's waters and forests as well as life with the end in sight. It spoke loudly to me."; "A well-written memoir from a tough woman who survived the Alaska wilderness and extremely serious health issues. She has served as an inspiration for a long time, and reading the details of her life has made me want to see the beautiful and wild far north even more. It also made me appreciate the particulars of her fights."