Resilient Readers Book Club
Resilient Readers Book Club
Exploring Books – and Life – with Boldness and Compassion
Presented by Texas Oncology Foundation and KickIt Recovery Wear
Exploring Books – and Life – with Boldness and Compassion Presented by Texas Oncology Foundation and KickIt Recovery Wear
Resilient Readers book club is a space to connect and enjoy reading in a new way – no pressure, no perfection, just community. Whether you’re in treatment, navigating survivorship, supporting a loved one, or caring for patients, you’ll find a circle that understands the complexity of the cancer experience while embracing the full spectrum of life beyond it.
Every other month, we gather virtually to discuss books that encourage reflection, spark inspiration, offer comfort, and open the door to meaningful conversation. Our selections span genres and perspectives, reminding us that resilience is shaped by many kinds of stories.
Take a little “me time” to settle in with our current read, and join a community that celebrates resiliency, courage, curiosity, and connection – one chapter at a time.
Moderator
Cindy Trice, DVM
Cindy Trice, DVM, is a veterinarian, speaker, serial entrepreneur, cancer survivor, and patient advocate for Cervivor. She’s the co-founder and chief innovation officer at KickIt Recovery Wear, a company leading the way in providing stylish, comfortable, and functional recovery wear for women during all stages of their cancer journey.
She splits her time between Atlanta, Georgia, and Bradenton, Florida, with her amazing husband and two long and low dogs.
Cindy Trice serves as moderator of The Resilient Readers Book Club. She “gets it” and appreciates the diverse perspectives of those who experienced cancer.
She is a veterinarian, speaker, serial entrepreneur, cancer survivor, and patient advocate for Cervivor, Inc. She’s the co-founder and chief innovation officer at KickIt Recovery Wear, a company leading the way in providing beautiful, comfortable, and functional clothing for women during all stages of their cancer journey. She lives in Bradenton, Florida, with her husband and three long and low dogs.
Book Club Upcoming Dates
- August 3 - "Gold and Grace: The Higher Purpose of an Olympic Champion"
- October 5 - "Flat Please: Hold the Shame" By Ellen Winters
- December 7 - "Divinity of Dogs" By Jennifer Skiff
HEALING THROUGH STORYTELLING | SHARED EXPERIENCES | REFLECTIVE CONVERSATIONS | COMPASSIONATE SUPPORT | COURAGE & HOPE
Gold and Grace: The Higher Purpose of an Olympic Champion
by Earl Young
Current Feature Book
Gold and Grace: The Higher Purpose of an Olympic Champion tells the inspiring story of Earl Young, a 1960 Olympic gold medalist whose most meaningful race began decades after his athletic triumphs. After building a successful career beyond the track, Earl was diagnosed with leukemia at age 71 and received a life-saving stem cell transplant from a donor in Germany. His experience led him to found Earl Young’s Team, a nonprofit dedicated to recruiting stem cell and bone marrow donors and giving hope to patients with blood cancers.
For Resilient Readers book club, this book offers a powerful and deeply relevant reflection on survivorship, gratitude, purpose, and the extraordinary impact one person can have in another’s cancer journey. It invites readers to consider how courage is shown not only in competition, but also in illness, recovery, advocacy, and service to others.
Author Earl Young
Author Diana Bosse
Teaser Questions
- What does it take for an Olympic champion to discover that his greatest race may come decades after winning gold?
- How does a life defined by speed, competition, and success become a story about patience, survival, and service?
- When Earl Young faced leukemia at age 71, what helped him move from fear to purpose?
- What can one stranger’s selfless gift teach us about hope, healing, and the power of saying “yes”?
- How does Earl Young’s Olympic victory connect to his later mission of recruiting bone marrow and stem cell donors?
- What does Gold and Grace suggest about the difference between achievement and true greatness?
- How might faith, gratitude, and community shape the way a person responds to a life-threatening diagnosis?
- What does it mean to use your own story as a bridge of hope for someone else?
- Could registering as a bone marrow and stem cell donor be one of the simplest ways to become part of someone else’s miracle?
Discussion Session Events
Future Feature Books
Future Feature Books
Flat Please: Hold the Shame by Ellyn Winters-Robinson is a candid, practical, and deeply human memoir about one woman’s breast cancer journey—from self-exam and diagnosis to double mastectomy, chemotherapy, and choosing aesthetic flat closure. Written with humor, honesty, and the tone of a trusted friend, the book challenges assumptions about femininity, survivorship, body image, and the pressure women may feel to “reconstruct” after breast cancer surgery. It also opens the door to a larger conversation about advocacy, informed choice, and removing shame from deeply personal medical decisions.
Author Ellyn Winters-Robinson
Teaser Questions
- How does the title set the tone for both a personal memoir and a broader advocacy movement?
- What emotional, physical, and identity-related challenges continue after diagnosis and surgery?
- Does humor make difficult topics easier to face, or does it reveal something deeper about resilience?
- What cultural expectations about women’s bodies, femininity, and “normalcy” does this book challenge?
- How can patients be better supported in understanding all surgical options, including aesthetic flat closure?
- Where does shame appear in healthcare, even when no one voices it?
- What makes a patient narrative powerful, practical, and useful to others facing a similar diagnosis?
- How can patients balance trust in medical professionals with the need to speak up for their preferences?
- In what ways do shared stories, online spaces, advocacy campaigns, and tools like AskEllyn.ai help people feel less alone?
- How can we help create a culture where every breast cancer patient’s body choice is respected without judgment?
The Divinity of Dogs: True Stories of Miracles Inspired by Man’s Best Friend
by Jennifer Skiff
Future Feature Books
The Divinity of Dogs: True Stories of Miracles Inspired by Man’s Best Friend by Jennifer Skiff is a heartfelt nonfiction anthology filled with true stories about the extraordinary bond between people and dogs. Through accounts of comfort, healing, intuition, loyalty, grief, and unconditional love, the book explores how dogs often become companions through life’s hardest moments and reminders of hope, presence, and grace. Emotional, uplifting, and deeply moving, this book invites readers to reflect on the animals who have shaped their lives and the quiet ways love can arrive when it is needed most.
Author Jennifer Skiff
Teaser Questions
- Have you ever had an animal seem to know exactly what you needed before you did?
- Why do you think dogs are so often described as sources of unconditional love?
- Can a relationship with a pet be spiritually meaningful, even if it does not fit traditional ideas of spirituality?
- Which is more powerful in these stories: the dogs’ heroic actions or their everyday companionship?
- How do dogs help people move through grief, illness, loneliness, or trauma in ways other people sometimes cannot?
- Do you think animals can sense emotional or physical distress, or are we simply more open to seeing meaning in their behavior?
- What does this book suggest about healing—does it always mean being cured, or can it mean being comforted, seen, and loved?
- Many of the stories involve rescue dogs. What does the book reveal about second chances—for both animals and people?
- How does losing a beloved pet change the way we understand love, memory, and devotion?
- After reading these stories, do you see dogs differently—as pets, protectors, companions, teachers, or something more?
Past Books
June 1 –
“The Perks of Having Cancer: An Inspirational, Positive and Humorous View of a Not-So-Inspirational, Positive or Humorous Situation”
April 20 –
“Seriously, What are You Waiting For? 13 Actions to Ignite Your Life and Achieve the Ultimate Comeback”
