Untreed Reads discussion

A tale of survival, and the community which made it possible:

Music makes a difference in people’s lives. For musician and Saginaw native Stewart Francke, it saved his life.

In his memoir, “What Don’t Kill Me Just Makes Me Strong,” Francke discusses how music and the Detroit community helped him get through his struggles to come out tougher, dealing with a bone marrow transplant and treatment for leukemia and overcoming drug addiction.

The article is posted at The Oakland Press and a book excerpt can be read at Untreed Reads.

What Don't Kill Me Just Makes Me Strong by Stewart Francke:

What Don't Kill Me Just Makes Me Strong is a survival memoir that recounts Stewart Francke's remarkable journey through leukemia and a bone marrow transplant, complications and recovery. Understanding he is, as a survivor, part of the “lucky unlucky,” Francke finds the silver lining in his struggle and then some.

Each chapter begins with guides to survival--through any adversity, not just cancer. These informed aphorisms lend What Don't Kill Me a spiritual dimension, making it both literary memoir and a guide to living. As a young father and renowned musician, Francke describes the relationships with his family, friends, medical team and muse with poignant detail, humor and love. He ultimately comes to treat each breath as a gift and grows to understand that a life in service to others is a life lived with true purpose.

The trip from initial biopsy to full recovery is often horrific, but Francke writes as an unflinching advocate for his own condition, and comes to understand that both surrender and faith are choices. He continually chooses the latter, and finds only death is irrevocable. All else either makes us stronger or can be learned to live with. Although this is a somewhat singular journey through illness, faith and family, Francke makes it everyone’s story.