BOUNCE: A Memoir of Resilience

BOUNCE: A Memoir of Resilience

Former cancer caregiver and forever autism mom Susan McCorkindale knows a thing or two about resilience: How to discover it within ourselves, strengthen it, and maximize it with gratitude to navigate and emerge from life’s uncertainties stronger and healthier, more optimistic, and open to new options and opportunities. In Bounce: A Memoir of Resilience , McCorkindale takes us from her days as a new widow with two kids on a 500-acre beef cattle farm in the middle of nowhere, to fulfilling her dream of taking the TEDx stage. It’s a story of surviving cancer’s aftermath with her mental health and humor intact, of stepping up to the plate to run the farm she once wanted to run from, and of refusing to allow her autistic son, his doctors, and society to put limits on how much a kid with special needs could achieve. It’s a story of suddenly being fifty and single, dating, discovering the whole thing still sucks and determining it’s not worth the eyeliner. Until, of course, it is. It’s a story of unyielding resilience that begins nine years ago and takes us right to the present-day pandemic and political unrest and, by the time we arrive, thanks to McCorkindale’s example and tutelage, we have the tools we need to bounce back and stay back. Almost every chapter in Bounce is followed by a Bounce “Boost” that offers additional food for thought and, after the Epilogue, a special section called Your Daily Boost offers 31 resilience builders, one for every day of the month, that readers can use to continue building resilience. McCorkindale delivers a moving memoir of love, loss, and strength in the face of tragedy. Following a loose timeline that picks up after the death of her beloved husband, Stu, from pancreatic cancer, the author traces, in short, bite-sized chapters, the sporadic ups and downs of living on a 500-acre farm in northern Virginia while taking care of her two sons, Casey and Cuyler. It doesn't take long for readers to discover the author's delightful sense of humor—even in situations that are decidedly unfunny. Her anecdotes alternate between the heartwarming and heartbreaking. As she describes battling the wind in an attempt to scatter her husband's (and the dog's!) ashes on the farm or the shelves full of her husband's cancer medications (which she dubbed the "McPharmacy"), love and optimism shine through: "There are no words to describe the pain of watching someone you love die, but there are plenty of words to describe the joy of living." McCorkindale radiates maternal love as she fights for her autistic teenage son to receive the care and instruction he needs at a rehabilitation center. Even in her darkest moments, including being furloughed from her job as a marketing director during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and enduring a horrific relationship with an abusive man identified only as "the Winemaker," readers get the sense that everything will be OK. McCorkindale shares 31 "resilience-builder" meditations ("Trust Your Gut"; "Chase Your Dreams"; "Let it Unfold"; etc.) at the conclusion of the book to help readers realize their own ability to thrive. This is all conveyed with her signature wit and warmth, such as when she encourages others to chase their dreams: "Sure, there might be people around us holding their breath waiting for us to fail, but my feeling is, they should suffocate. Chase your dreams. All you can lose is a mediocre life." Brimming with heart and humor, this emotional journey encourages readers to embrace life." ― Kirkus Reviews