Diagnosed with breast cancer, Tamara Levine wrote the first of eleven letters she would send to friends and family throughout her “year from hell”. In them she shares the horrors, minefields, startling paradoxes and unexpected joys of her healing journey. Confronted by the daunting labyrinth of the cancer care system, Tamara tried to bring together the often conflicting worlds of mainstream and complementary medicine. More than a memoir, she brings us the voices of her health care providers: her oncologists, surgeon, naturopathic doctor and life coach. They share their expertise, why they choose to do this work, how they cope with the inevitable losses and their hopes and visions for cancer care. But Hope is Longer offers insight, compassion, and strategies that individuals and families struggling with cancer will find invaluable.

Tamara Levine is a long-time adult educator, literacy activist, and feminist. She has worked with unions and employers to pioneer workplace literacy and clear language initiatives across Canada with the Ontario Federation of Labour and the Canadian Labour Congress. She retired from her job in 2011 following breast cancer, treatment, and recovery. She lives in Ottawa with her family.

Tamara Levine's profile page

(A) thoughtful, well-written, informative and essential book, not just for those who have had cancer, but also for any of us who believe that we too could be next.

Outlook Magazine

A must-read resource for oncology healthcare providers and for those diagnosed with cancer, as well as their friends and family.

Herizons Magazine

But Hope Is Longer is compulsively readable, full of clear, useful advice and includes the perspectives of those who spend their days thinking about how to better care for cancer patients. More than a breast cancer memoir, this is a book that everyone will want to read.

Glebe Report

Like a gentle and wise friend who has just returned from a trip to hell, Levine beckons readers to pull up a chair, sit tight, and learn from her experience. If you are living with the fear that "this could happen to me," Levine's story gives you a chance to understand what she calls the country of breast cancer...Levine's ability to be emotionally honest makes the telling [so] compelling.

Healthwise Ottawa

The very best of books stay with the reader and may even influence how they live their lives. As an ongoing cancer patient, I was very moved by But Hope Is Longer.

Glebe Report

There is much good advice in this memoir, written with compassion and understanding, and it would be helpful to both those diagnosed with a potentially fatal illness, as well as those whose loved one has received such a diagnosis.

Jewish Independent

Levine’s story speaks to all women with breast cancer – and to those who love them. And, while everyone’s breast cancer journey and care-management varies, Levine, with her pioneering spirit, offers an inspiring example of what is possible while “navigating the country of breast cancer.”

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin

The book is both intensely personal and reflective, as well as being extremely practical and helpful... Thank you, Tamara Levine, for writing a book for our times, one that is right for and reflective of the second decade of the 21st century.

Canadian Women's Health Network

With strength and wisdom for those who are facing this ordeal themselves, "But Hope is Longer" is a must for any memoir collection focusing on cancer and seeking to conquer it.

The Midwest Book Review