I recently finished reading Christopher Hitchens' last book, Mortality, which was written during the nineteen months between his diagnosis with esophageal cancer and his death.

I found several quotes well worth the effort of jotting down.

"...body turns from being a friend to being a foe:..." (p. 40)

"...I don't have a body, I am a body." (p. 41)

"...in this year of living dyingly..." (p. 54)

"...every passing day represents more and more relentlessly subtracted from less and less." (p. 71)

"Body turns from a reliable friend to more neutral treacherous foe..." (p. 91)

I read this book as a family member/caregiver of one, as Christopher is wont to say, "living dyingly" and engaged in "a long and brave struggle with mortality," rather than as more commonly stated "living with cancer" and "battling cancer." I prefer Christopher's choice of words.