Title: Better off Bald: A Life in 147 Days
Author: Andrea Wilson Woods
Publisher: Build Your Bliss
ISBN: 978-1-5445-0460-5
Pages: 392
Genre: Memoir
Reviewed by: Candace L. Barr

Read Book Review

Better off Bald: A Life in 147 Days tells the story of two sisters, Andrea and Adrienne, as they face Adrienne’s liver cancer diagnosis and the effects of the disease. Andrea Wilson Woods writes a poignant account of gaining and losing a sister she saw as a daughter. With the addition of Adrienne’s journal entries and e-mails at the beginning of each chapter, the book becomes a joint effort. Reading the book with the knowledge of how it all ends doesn’t make her death feel like any less of a loss for the reader as Adrienne is easy to root for. She was far too young, and she was vivacious and clever—there’s no mystery as to why Andrea was moved to write about her.

The story opens with the revelation that their mother is pregnant, but the narrative does not follow a linear sequence of events. The main thread of the story is the chronological account of the sisters’ lives starting on the fateful day Andrea took Adrienne to the hospital for abdominal pain, and flashbacks to their childhoods are interspersed throughout, painting a vivid picture of their relationship. After their mother lost her nursing job due to drug theft, Andrea gained custody of her younger sister whose father died before she was born. Despite their 14-year age gap, the two had always been close. Andrea did the hard work of maintaining the delicate balance required for her dual mother-sister role, and in a way, they grew up together. Adrienne’s cancer treatment was another learning experience. In addition to the struggles of the disease and the impending loss, both of them still had to face the other realities of life including dealing with their mother’s continued dishonesty, loss friendships, and the idea of fate.

Destiny appears in many forms throughout the narrative; an off-hand joke, a set of numbers, predictions that coincidentally came true. The sisters each face fate in their own way, sometimes embracing it and sometimes holding on to skepticism for the sake of hope. Beyond their presence in disease and death, fate and coincidence tied the sisters to other figures in their lives, whether those people remained throughout the cancer’s progression and beyond Adrienne’s death or not. The one person who doesn’t fit into the narrative as an active player is the link between the sisters – their mother. By the time Adrienne had started showing symptoms of illness, Myra Wilson’s role in both their lives was practically nonexistent, and she is rarely addressed outside of flashbacks.

Readers who have dealt with or are currently dealing with a loved one’s terminal illness can find a measure of comfort in the way Andrea Wilson Woods processes her grief. She avoids being trite, yet her honesty does not come off as harsh. As she did with parenting, she strikes a delicate balance with her words and manages to be both realistic and inspirational. Better off Bald is devastating and heartbreaking, inspiring and edifying. Most importantly, it’s real. It’s a beautifully written, insightful, page-turning book on how we connect as humans and why life – no matter how truncated – is worth living. I highly recommend this to all people who glide through life not considering the end, but also for those looking for hope as unrealistic as it may seem at times.