A Whole New Life

Reynolds Price has long been one of America’s most acclaimed and accomplished men of letters—the author of novels, stories, poems, essays, plays, and now an unforgettable memoir about illness and healing in this more personal story, a narrative as intimate and compelling as any work of the imagination.In 1984, a large cancer was discovered in Reynold Price’s spinal cord (“The tumor was pencil-thick and gray-colored, ten inches long from my neck-hair downward”). Here, for the first time, Price recounts without self-pity what became a long struggle to withstand and recover from this appalling, if all too common, affliction. He charts the first puzzling symptoms; the urgent surgery that failed to remove the growth and the radiation that temporarily arrested it (but hurried his loss of control of his lower body); the occasionally comic trials of rehab; the steady rise of severe pain and reliance on drugs; two further radical surgeries; the sustaining force of a certain religious vision; an eventual discovery of help from biofeedback and hypnosis; and the miraculous return of his powers as a writer in a new, active life. Beyond the particulars of pain and mortal illness, larger concerns surface here—a determination to get on with the human interaction that is so much a part of this writer's much-loved work, the gratitude he feels toward kin and friends and some (though by no means all) doctors, the return to his prolific work, his own resilience, and the “now appalling, now astonishing grace of God.” A Whole New Life is a memoir of hope and courage, a vivid reflection on illness and identity, and a deeply human narrative about overcoming chronic illness. It speaks to finding strength in illness, explores disability and personal growth, and ultimately charts a path toward spiritual awakening. This inspirational work is a beacon for anyone confronting serious illness or supporting a loved one who is. With honesty, grace, and clarity, Price offers an inspirational story of transformation that restores faith in the enduring power of the human spirit.