Editorial Review: “Cancer Courts My Mother” by  LindaAnn LoSchiavo

Cancer Courts My Mother by LindaAnn LoSchiavo is a heart-wrenching collection of poems that depicts the emotions of a daughter who is the caregiver of her terminally ill mother.

Review

In her heart-wrenching collection of poems named Cancer Courts My Mother, LindaAnn LoSchiavo bravely captures the emotions of a daughter in charge of caring for her mother who has no chance of recovering.

Cancer Courts My Mother consists of twenty-five poems. Each and every piece is a raw depiction of LoSchiavo’s feelings. She masterfully uses metaphors and allegories to portray her experience. The poems blur the boundaries between visionary art and lived experience, yet being presented as a work of fiction. Cancer is personified as the relentless lover of her mother. It is likened to a suitor who does not take no for an answer. Even after going into remission, her mother has to face the return of Cancer, a lover who tempts her mother to leave the world of the living. The poems CANCER, Intrusive Music, and Cancer, You Sly Casanova masterfully depict this.

In the very first poem, Diagnosis, LoSchiavo shows us the suddenness and the almost overnight transformation of a family after a loved one is diagnosed with a terminal illness. In Mother Magnified and Flash, LoSchiavo unflinchingly lays bare the ups and downs of her relationship with her mother. It shows the metamorphosis in her mother’s behavior after her “final bout with cancer.” LoSchiavo honestly confesses that the difficult memories of her mother would always remain with her.

In Arrival, Green Nursemaid, Eight Weeks Later, Living Through the Dying, Fat Tuesday, Tick Tick, Sickroom Portrait, and Mother Requests Miracles, LoSchiavo likens her mother’s illness to the nursing of her dear plants. Terminal Illness makes us feel the sheer despondency of an incurable affliction. In Remembering Remission Christmas and Remission’s Like An Extra Holiday, the miraculous respite from cancer is seen through the lens of Christmas, the festival of miracles. Mother on Morphine, Dreaming of Anna Magnani, showcases the little joys her mother took while under medication. I found her penchant for finding escape in cinema to be relatable. Sickroom at 138 Degrees Fahrenheit portrays LoSchiavo’s faltering hope. Her patience with her mother in such trying times is admirable.

Early Visit from the Grim Reaper shows how LoSchiavo brought back her mother from the brink of death time and again. Bartering with Cancer depicts LoSchiavo’s raw grief and her unwilling acceptance of cancer’s heartless victory. The poem CANCER turns the word itself into an acronym that embodies the Casanova nature of the disease. Jaundice presents to us the ultimate submission of her mother to her faithful suitor, Cancer. LoSchiavo’s lyrical writing style makes this heartbreaking portrait alive in my mind’s eyes. Intrusive Music portrays the relentless pursuit of Cancer. My Mother’s Ghost Dancing beautifully expresses LoSchiavo’s mother’s final departure from this world of pain and suffering. Nightsong for Mother and The Closet As She Left It are heart-touching revelations of LoSchiavo’s mother’s final moments and the aftermath of her passing. The Closet As She Left It reminded me of the harrowing time post my grandma’s demise when I latched onto anything and everything of hers.

LindaAnn LoSchiavo is a brilliant poet. I admire her for penning such an honest and personal collection of poems. Her evocative writing style and raw depiction of such trying times made me her fan. Blending emotional truth with poetic imagination, LoSchiavo transforms private grief into universal art. I highly recommend LindaAnn LoSchiavo’s Cancer Courts My Mother to all poetry lovers. People who enjoy memoirs will love this as well. I believe Cancer Courts My Mother will resonate with anyone who has lost a loved one to a terminal illness.

Book Details

• Title: Cancer Courts My Mother
• Author:  LindaAnn LoSchiavo
• Genre: Poetry
• Sub-genres: Poetic Realism, Fictionalized Memoir, Narrative Poetry, Confessional Poetry, Elegiac Poetry, Metaphorical Realism, Autobiographical Fiction, Literary Realism, Symbolist Poetry, Illness and Grief Literature
• Theme: Cancer, Mother, Grief, Death, Loss, Love, Resilience, Hope
• Publication Date: November 7, 2025
• ISBN or ASIN: B0FXH4XD72
• Number of Pages: 40
• Minimum Audience Age: 12

About the Author

LindaAnn LoSchiavo, a New York poet and dramatist, has received several Pushcart Prize nominations and other nods including Best of the Net, the Rhysling, and Dwarf Stars Awards. A member of BFS, HWA, SFPA, and The Dramatists Guild, she authored multiple poetry collections and a documentary on Texas Guinan.

Book Themes

(Note: 0=none, 1=a few, 2=considerable, 3=pronounced, 4=excessive)

• Sexual themes: 1
• Religious themes: 1
• Violence, self-harm, etc.: 0
• Crude language, expletives, swearing, etc.: 0
• Other adult themes: 1

Rating

• Content: 5 stars
• Writing Style: 5 stars
• Appeal to Target Audience: 5 stars
• Uniqueness: 5 stars
• Editing: 5 stars
• Other factors: 5 stars
• Overall: 5 out of 5

Links

• Amazon US
• Amazon AU
• Barnes and Noble
• Goodreads

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