A race against cancer that became a marathon to wholeness. A compelling memoir about self-discovery, resilience, and the radical courage to let go.
Rochelle Finzel followed the rules and aspired to be the best. At thirty-nine, her life seemed perfect. She had a great job, was dating her soulmate, climbed mountains on the weekends and had just run a personal best marathon. Four days later, she was diagnosed with stage four cancer.
Facing a bleak prognosis, Rochelle reexamined her life. Facing continual reminders of her mortality but fiercely fighting for survival, she opened her heart, followed her gut, learned to listen to her body, and trusted its wisdom.
Honest and heartfelt, The Run of My Life pulls the reader into exam rooms and onto mountaintops, offering hope and inspiration for those enduring any kind of crisis, and for finding new life on the other side.
Why I wrote a book?
What began as an attempt to understand my cancer journey turned into an exercise in finding meaning in crisis and discovering the gifts packaged in illness and change. The Run of My Life was a race against a life-threatening illness that became a marathon to wholeness. Sometimes it takes a crisis to discover our truth.
How did I get so sick? I was a runner, biker, avid hiker and in the best shape of my life, nearly qualifying for the coveted Boston Marathon. The only problem was that my job was “killing me.”
What sounded like an offhand quip became a prophetic wakeup call when I was diagnosed with stage four metastatic melanoma.
A self-described people-pleasing perfectionist, I willingly agreed to work for difficult bosses and not complain and was rewarded with high-level positions and professional success.
The Run of My Life illustrates what Dr. Gabor Mate describes in his book, “The Myth of Normal,’” which examines trauma, illness and healing. He cited research with melanoma patients who were identified as “pleasers”, they were “excessively nice, pleasant to a fault, uncomplaining and unassertive.” Like them, I had learned to push my emotions aside, unaware of the stress or its physiological consequences.
The diagnosis forced me to reckon with the origins of my self-sacrificing ways and the costs I paid as a result. And to answer the question of whether I wanted to carry the past into my future.
I believed running and all the athletic and outdoor pursuits and healthy lifestyle shielded me from stress. But my body knew otherwise. And intuitively, I did as well. I just needed to learn to trust myself and listen to my body and my heart.
The Run of My Life was a race against illness that became a marathon to wholeness. It is not just a cancer survival story, but a story of resilience and the courage to let go…in order to move on.
I share my story to offer hope to others facing crisis and finding life on the other side.
