Janet Buttenwieser

I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.



Most of us face one major incident in our life if we are lucky. Imagine that you not only have a serious illness but you have also had to suffer a loss and infertility. For a lot of people I know having to deal with just one of those things would be enough to turn their life upside down to the point that they couldn’t deal with it. Here we have a woman who has faced so many issues yet through her story we find hope. Janet Buttenwieser’s memoir shows true courage. When faced with and treated for years for a mis-diagnosed illness, Janet pushed on. Beside her all the way was the man who would eventually become her husband, Matt. What stood out to me so much was the true love he showed for her. When finally properly diagnosed and needing a colostomy bag, Matt didn’t shy away he continued to take care of Janet and encourage her. I’ve known two people with colostomy bags and both of them had spouses that embraced and encouraged them.

Janet’s best friend Beth taught her how to live life to the fullest. She is the type of friend you need who teaches you how to stand up for yourself. Her passing strengthened Janet even though I don’t think she realized it at the time. All of us need a friend like that in our lives.

Then there are the children who came into Matt and Janet’s lives. I would love to see where they are today and how their lives have changed. I would venture to say that their lives are so much richer because of who their parents are. If there is one lesson to be learned from this memoir it would be to learn to live life to the fullest no matter what your circumstances. I really enjoyed this book. It is an emotional read. Janet is one of those people who is able to weave words and feelings together to create a painted masterpiece. I highly recommend this book.… (mere)