Facing Fear Cancer and Politics, Courage and Hope

inlieuofspeech.blogspot.com). She was formerly a senior producer and interviewer forTo the Best of Our Knowledge, a nationally syndicated public radio show. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin.ldquo;We are all going to die. The real question, the question basic to confronting our fears, is how are we going to live.rdquo;-fromFacing FearAfter the presidential campaign and election in 2004, Judith Strasser set out to investigate the nature of fear and its widespread use as a political campaign strategy. After flying to Seattle to conduct research for her study of political fear, Strasser returned home to a diagnosis of stomach cancer.Facing Feartraces Strasserrsquo;s attempt to understand the nature of fear and anxiety and to regain control of a life threatened by a fatal disease. Part memoir, part journalism, and all heart, her book explores our biological and psychological responses to fearful events, examines the culture of fear in which we live, and suggests ways in which we, both as individuals and as members of a community, can overcome our anxieties and face our fears with courage and hope.ldquo;Facing Fearcovers a large array of terrifying situations, ranging from the authorrsquo;s own cancer to murders of a peace community in Colombia, with an eye on how ordinary people have managed not to be overwhelmed, not to be hysterical, but rather to live as much and as calmly as possible in the present.rdquo;-James P. Gustafson, M.D., professor of psychiatry, University of WisconsinMadisonldquo;For Judith Strasser, September 11th was the start of a life-changing exploration of the very nature of fear and courage, a search she details in her wonderful book. This journey sends her back to her earlier recovery from cancer and her memories of a brutal murder, as well as out into the world to a Colombian community devoted to peace in spite of living daily with both fear and violence. . . .Facing Fearoffers an abundance of insights without once faltering into self-help clicheacute;s. Instead, Strasser takes us with her, sharing her hard-won knowledge and guiding us along a precarious path that ends in hope.rdquo;-Jesse Lee Kercheval, author ofThe Alice Storiesldquo;I was reading Judith Strasserrsquo;s brilliant examination of the cross-section between violence and hatred during the same week that a gunman who wanted to kill liberals and homosexuals attacked a childrenrsquo;s show at a Unitarian meeting house in Tennessee. We live in tenuous times when unspeakable crimes are committed. But those crimes are not unexplainable-at least not for those in possession of Strasserrsquo;s compelling consideration of our difficult circumstances and prospects for escaping them.rdquo;-John Nichols, correspondent forThe Nation