The title alone made me want to read this book by Chinese-American activist and baritone sax player Fred Ho, known for his prowess (he can play up to six-octaves) and Afro-Asian jazz inspired compositions.

In this raw yet approachable diary, Ho candidly unearths his brutal war against colorectal cancer, coupled with his struggle to continue playing and composing as the “New Fred Ho.” I was especially intrigued by his ambitious positioning of the body as the ultimate site for resisting the world’s commoditization, and fusing fighting disease, which he has been doing since 2006, with battling toxic capitalism.

Ho may just convince you, too, to never think about cancer in the same way again—or at least to attend his Honolulu book launch this March with University of Hawai‘i writers and choreographers with whom he has collaborated.

–Christine Thomas for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, On My Shelf