Joan Conway’s memoir “Weave As A River” is an honest, moving account of the author’s own reckoning with cancer diagnosis and treatment. Through her story, Conway gives voice to the deeply personal, yet universal, experience of confronting a life-threatening illness. She exposes her emotional vulnerability equally with the brutal physical impacts of chemo and radiation therapies. Sparse details in vivid imagery give form to many private losses and fears. But Conway is also determined to steer, or weave, her course through the daily activities of self-care and medical necessity that reshape her world. Struggling to secure her bearings, she reaches for memories of childhood, a humble home, and the figure of her mother. Frame by frame, her mother’s character and story emerge. Through beautifully woven vignettes of past and present, Conway brings her mother to life and holds her close. Moments in time suspend the connected lives of mother and daughter.

In part, what makes Conway’s storytelling so impactful is the author’s strength as an observer. Readers are invited to share the space and situation of Conway’s defining experiences. We sit within the walls of her doctor’s office and her mother’s kitchen. We stand at the river shoreline - and travel its waters. Through an artist’s lens, Conway captures intimate worlds of emotion and meaning. The people of her world, and the natural world surrounding her, become touchstones of self-awareness, strength, and resilience. For Conway, the river embodies the coursing energy of life and connectivity. It has the power to sustain, reshape - or carry us beyond our control. Conway’s memoir balances the vitality and fragility of life within our shared human experience. At heart, “Weave As A River” is a love story. A persistent affirmation of life is its pulse.

Cheryl Cebuliak