I can still vividly remember clicking onto Pajiba in March of 2009, to see Dustin’s post that AlabamaPink had died from leukemia. I know I gasped aloud and started reading thinking “no, no, no, no.” How could the death of this person I’d never met affect me so much? A young mother, whose witty, snarky comments had made me laugh was no longer on this Earth, and I was just sitting at a computer, expected to carry on the work of the day as usual.
That might be the reason I’m doing what I’m doing what I’m doing for CBR.
Or it could be either of my father’s brothers who died from different forms of cancer. Or my aunt who has battled breast cancer, twice. Or my husband’s cousin, who has also fought breast cancer. It could be more of my online friends who I watch fight so bravely, and share so honestly what they’re going through. It could be my mother’s best friend, a second mother to me, who succumbed to breast cancer in the late 80s when so little was known how to fight this terrible disease. And there are so many more who fought and are fighting cancer, that it’s daunting and heartbreaking to try to list all of them. Day by day, more of us are diagnosed with this horrible disease, how can our efforts make even the tiniest bit of help in the fight?
Then I looked at what we’ve done here: how many books we’ve read, how many pages, chapters, volumes in the name of AlabamaPink (at last count we were close to 30,000 books read). How many of you have found a favorite book from another Cannonballer’s review? And then I begin to realize again that maybe we are doing something good. Not only are we fighting back at cancer, but we’re fighting for books, for stories, for the love of reading, for each other. And that makes my heart sing.
We’re just about halfway through the eleventh year of Cannonball Read, and I’m so proud of what we’re doing here. I hope you are too. Please consider making a donation to help keep us running – you can visit our donation page or our merch page and pick up a CBR t-shirt, mug, or tote. Every little bit helps us in our mission of sticking it to cancer, one book at a time.
I’d also like to hear from you – why do YOU Cannonball? Write a post here or hit us up on social media with the hashtag #WhyICannonball.
Thank you for taking this ride with me.