"The startling cover art of Slapped Awake only hints at the manner in which breast cancer patient Deborah Hampton bares her soul to readers in her first-person account of battling the disease. Slapped Awake is a blunt, poignant, heart-breaking yet healing account of how a breast cancer patient coped with the circumstances she'd been dealt... Mingled throughout her entries are eloquent poems Hampton has written that convey more concisely than her prose the emotions she feels about her diagnosis and treatment. They are beautiful, humorous and haunting... Slapped Awake is a gritty, honest look at how breast cancer affects women physically, emotionally and socially. It should become standard reading for every breast cancer patient and family." Chattanooga Times Free Press "A must-have for cancer center libraries, Slapped Awake is an inspirational account of one woman's fight against breast cancer and its residual effects. With raw and appealing honesty, Deborah Hampton draws us into the alternative universe inhabited by those who must daily come to terms with having metastatic breast cancer as a life companion... This is a richly told story of devastation and desolation, of promise and perseverance...The ever-growing cohort of women battling this disease will recognize their own emotional states in this highly readable tale told with near- perfect prose and unforgettable poetry...Slapped Awake bears a message rich with hope and grit for the journey." Fall 2007 Newsletter of the Association of Oncology Social Work "Because 1 in 8 women will struggle with breast cancer in their lifetime, chances are you already know or will eventually know someone who is fighting this disease. For a better understanding and a beautiful, truthful look into their world, pick up a copy of Slapped Awake, Living with Breast Cancer: A Journey in Poetry and Prose, penned by local author, Deborah Lang Hampton. In it, she shares dealing with her own feelings, her family and loved one's feelings, the doctor's visits, the side effects, the roller coaster ride of emotions and the thought processes accompanying them. Peppered throughout the pages are also deeply personal pieces of poetry that powerfully connect the reader not only to Deborah, but to the disease itself and the toll it takes on human life, both negative and positive." "Blush magazine," October 2007 Rather than bemoan her cancer, Hampton has learned, if not to celebrate it, then certainly to live with it. Not just to merely survive, but to live life enthusiastically ­ not despite cancer, but actually because of cancer. . . Life is precious, indeed. Writers like Deborah Hampton remind us that its value is not tarnished when our health doesn't happen to be perfect. "Augusta Medical Examiner" A must-read, Slapped Awake is an inspirational account of one woman's fight with breast cancer and its residual effects. "The Cutting Edge", August 2007 issue Slapped Awake is a poignant look at the mixed feelings, physical limitations, and relational havoc that cancer can wreak upon an unsuspecting life, and an essential book for anyone who has been touched by the disease. "Westview News," Nashville I read Slapped Awake in one sitting. I am grateful for the privilege of reading this courageous and remarkable memoir. I am reminded of Raymond Carver's A New Path to the Waterfall, Jean Bauby's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and Reynolds Price's A Whole New Life. By the end of the text, I felt that I knew the writer. I could trust her. I sensed the honesty in each emotion. She presents no easy fixes or false pieties...Works such as Slapped Awake reassure me of our common humanity. Clif Cleaveland, MD Author of Sacred Space and Healers and Heroes This exceptional story demonstrates the value of embracing cancer as a part of life, and in so doing, discovering new and transforming meanings to life itself. Fr. Douglas Schwert, St. Mary's Sewanee Sewanee, Tennessee Slapped Awake is a close-up look at the heart of a person in transformation in the crucible of life-threatening illness. If you want to see the step-by-step process of meaning-making, which the philosophers tell us is the very purpose of life, then you must hold this book close. Its truth, beauty and insights regarding how to achieve a good life, told in both verse and prose, will guide you through the process of becoming an authentic human being. Mary K. Radpour, psychotherapist I have been savoring Debbi Hampton's writing, even her personal health and family updates, for six years now. Her words never fail to resonate with me and soothe my soul. Slapped Awake is no exception, capturing every nuance of breast cancer in ways that are so brilliantly moving. I think it should be required reading. Sara Williams, nine-year breast cancer survivor NIH Sister Study Recruitment Coordinator There aren't many manuscripts that capture me the way Slapped Awake did. Debbi Hampton's writing style and willingness to look at tough issues of living with metastatic breast cancer while growing a family made for compelling reading. Kathy LaTour, Editor-at-Large CURE magazine Now Available! Slapped Awake Living with Breast Cancer: A Journey in Poetry and Prose   ...and read Debbi's Blog for the continuing story.