Photo of Mary Ladd and Don Asmussen: Liz Hafalia, The San Francisco Chronicle
~ THE WIG DIARIES ~
ILLUSTRATED BY DON ASMUSSEN
The Wig Diaries is Mary Ladd’s debut irreverent cancer book. Delivered with bold gallows humor, it intimately address the gravity of cancer and invites the reader to bear witness to both the horror and the joke(s). Armed with creative sensibility, Ladd robs her diagnosis of its dour weightiness. Refusing to tiptoe around the gnarlier elements of treatment and recovery, the narrative is powerful in its unvarnished honesty and contagious lust for life exemplified by hilarious anecdotes.
· A uniquely fresh modern and black comedy take on cancer
· Covers and pokes fun at everything from diagnosis to treatment to medical bills
FEATURING DON ASMUSSEN
Illustrator Don Asmussen was the creator of Bad Reporter, a twice-weekly political comic strip in the San Francisco Chronicle that is syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate. He was the author of two books of comic strips Dog vs. Cat: A Nation Divided and The San Francisco Comic Strip Book of Big-Ass Mocha, and his prize-winning illustrations appeared in Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts magazine, Print magazine and the Society of Newspaper Design. In 2019, Asmussen announced: "I’ve got cancer. My SF Chronicle bosses have been great and very supportive as I work my way back. They have shown wonderful patience with me (Thank God). It has spread to my organs, including my brain (my very worst organ, as most of you know)." Don died December 9, 2021.
“I love this book.”—Mary Roach, author of the books Grunt, Stiff, Spook, and Bonk.
“This looks like a hoot and a half. I want more.”—Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket), author of A Series of Unfortunate Events.
"A breath of fresh air and levity! The Wig Diaries is the personal, funny, relevant and oh-so-needed guide you are looking for.” —
April Stearns, editor in chief of Wildfire Magazine.
“Clear-eyed, fun, and reassuring, it’s the perfect guide!”—Vanessa Hua, author of A River of Stars and Deceit and Other Possibilities.
The Wig Diaries Book Launch.
All photos and video courtesy of Tamara Palmer
The Wig Diaries Litquake launch at The Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco on October 13th included a Q&A session led by award-winning author Vanessa Hua. Illustrator Don Asmussen set up the interview by repeatedly reassuring the standing room-only crowd that the conversation was “not scripted.” Topics ranged from malady favoritism (“Have you always given more attention to CERTAIN maladies over others? Do you always play favorites?”) to unusual hypotheticals (“If your cancer was a cat, would it be the one that hides under the bed, or the one that drives a car?”). Guests loaded up on copies of The Wig Diaries, plus T-shirts and mugs—all while enjoying complimentary ice cream from Humphry Slocombe (including the flavors of Surfer's Breakfast, and a dark chocolate sea salt concoction) served on the museum's brick patio as the Blue Angels soared overhead.
Breast Cancer Action provides health justice for all women at risk of and living with breast cancer, via grassroots activism. BCA offers info and resources through a 1-800 line, as well as independent analysis of breast cancer treatment news. Thanks to their conflict of interest policy, they aren’t in the pocket of industry.
METAvivor: In the sea of pink breast cancer awareness campaigns, METAvivor is the “Elephant in the Pink Room”. They work to raise awareness about metastatic, Stage IV breast cancer, and to fund research to extend the lives of people living with MBC.
CHECK US OUT AT CITY LIGHTS!
MARY LADD AND MONICA HARO:
BEYOND THE DISEASE
Monica Haro, Mary Ladd, Edgar-Arturo Camacho-Gonzalez and Abel Rodriguez
In conversation with Monica Haro, creator of Reconstructed: A Breast Cancer Selfie and Documentation Project at the Cal Maritime Community Art Gallery in Vallejo, with support from El Comalito Collective Cultural Arts Center & Vallejo Art Walk. Monica is a community guide for Healthline and a board member for BAYS (Bay Area Young Survivors). Abel and Edgar-Arturo have experiences navigating the art world both as individual gay brown men as well as a gay couple of color. They decided to open the El Comalito Collective to honor underrepresented voices and together build opportunities for communities to network and create support.
Book Club discussion questions for The Wig Diaries: An Irreverent Cancer Book
1. What did you like best about this book?
2. What did you like least about this book?
3. What other books did this remind you of?
4. If you were making a movie of this book, who would you cast?
5. Share a favorite line from the book. Why did this line stand out?
6. Would you read another book by this author? Why or why not?
7. What feelings did this book evoke for you?
8. What songs does this book make you think of? Create a book group playlist together!
9. If you got the chance to ask the author of this book one question, what would it be?
10. What do you think the author’s purpose was in writing this book? What ideas was she trying to get across?
11. How original and unique was this book?
12. What did you already know about this book’s subject before you read this book?
13. What new things did you learn?
14. What questions do you still have?
15. What else have you read on this topic, and would you recommend these books to others?
16. What aspects of the author’s story could you most relate to?
17. How honest do you think the author was being?
18. What gaps do you wish the author had filled in? Were there points where you thought she shared too much?
19. Think about the other people in the book besides the author. How would you feel to have been depicted in this way?
20. Why do you think the author chose to tell this story?
PRINTABLE BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS
Download all of these in an easy book club printable HERE.
