Author: Michael Solomon

ISBN: 1463749554

Michael Solomon was tripping along, living his life much like the rest of us do, going to work, not finding enough time to spend with his kid, arguing with his wife, when his father started bugging him about getting a colonoscopy. Thanks to a family history of colon cancer, he was railroaded into getting his first physical in 15 years. It probably saved his life.

Although he wasn’t diagnosed with colon cancer, the physical set off a chain of events, hilariously recounted by Solomon, that landed him in the hospital to remove a malignant tumor. His black humor serves to lighten the story enough to avoid throwing the reader into despair and keep the narrative moving at a brisk pace. Anyone who has ever had to go through a complete colon cleanse in preparation for a colonoscopy or who has walked in to a surgeon’s office and felt as though they had been transported to a foreign land where nobody speaks English can relate. If you are a forty-something who is not so eagerly recognizing the signs of aging, the author’s neurotic ruminations on what he has to look forward to most likely echo the voices in your own head.

Michael was lucky enough to have a close friend who is a doctor. His wise counsel helped Solomon find reputable physicians and understand what was happening to him. That said, if you happen to believe the old adage, ‘laughter is the best medicine,’ Solomon’s knack for locating the absurd and ridiculous in every situation were also probably quite helpful.

The author is not shy about sharing the gory and embarrassing details of his cancer treatments and diagnostic procedures. He has a way of diving right in to each subject with wild abandon that may leave a squeamish reader cringing a bit, but for those whose humor tends to be dry, it is a laugh-out-loud funny story. The book itself is heavy on his cancer experience and relatively light on the divorce end of things. It feels like Solomon actually preferred writing about the potential of his own demise more than the demise of his marriage. He was careful to avoid vilifying or blaming anyone in particular for the breakup which was, frankly, refreshing. Perhaps the most touching moments in the book occur when Solomon writes about his son. The determination of when and how to inform his six-year-old of his cancer diagnosis was not taken lightly, although he did manage to inject his particular sardonic brand of humor into the deliberations leading up to it.

Now  It’s Funny is a treatise on aging, cancer, navigating the labyrinthine system of medical referrals and specialists, and a rocky marriage.

I thoroughly enjoyed this wry and excruciatingly honest look at Solomon’s journey through what must have been a truly terrifying ordeal, by any account. Ultimately, he’s right, it IS funny now, especially the way he tells it.

Follow Here To Purchase Now It's Funny: How I Survived Cancer, Divorce and Other Looming Disasters