The late Irish poet and philosopher John O’Donohue once said: “Suffering is the sister of your future possibility. Suffering is the window which can open in the closed wall of your life and allow you to glimpse the new pastures of creativity on which you are called to walk and wander. But it’s very difficult in any way to understand it while it’s happening to you. The light that suffering brings is always a gift that it leaves after it.”

These wise words articulate the inspiration for a special Midcoast Villager event I want to encourage you to attend:

An Unexpected Gift: Stories of Cancer & Community presented by New England Cancer Specialists at the Camden Opera House on Friday April 11th at 7pm.

O’Donohue’s words ring exceptionally true to me 18-months after being diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer at the age of 40.

Your life really does sever in two; before diagnosis and after. You are immediately — and without consent — pushed through a threshold. There is no way back to before. It’s scary and lonely and strips you down relentlessly until you question whether there is any you left.

And yet…

There is a precious beauty in finding yourself on the other side of this threshold. If you recall the scene in the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz, after Dorothy is swept up in a tornado and lands violently, killing the Wicked Witch of the East, she emerges into a world of technicolor. Over the rainbow, she is suddenly able to see the magic all around her.

One of the things that looks different to me now, and I think to many others that will take the stage with me on April 11th, is this community. It’s like mycelium roots that are holding us all up and connected to each other: It may not be visible to the naked eye all the time. But my goodness do you feel its presence when you truly need it. From friends and family, and nurses and doctors, to strangers and new acquaintances, community is the life-giving, hope-providing reinforcement that makes cancer and all its horrors endurable.

This community of ours is special. What a gift it is for ALL of us to witness and acknowledge that truth. And while my hope is for you, dear reader, not to endure suffering of any kind, I want to reassure you that if you do, this community will be here for you as it has been for so many of us. As Dorothy so iconically put it, there really is no place like our home.

And so we want to honor you, the community, and share our intimate and raw stories of cancer and the lessons it has taught us. Lessons of loss and pain, yes, but also of beauty and wisdom and love, too. “I often feel that when you’re called to suffer,” says O’Donohue, “that you’re called in a way to bring extra light and healing to the world.” I agree. Join us in light and healing and togetherness on April 11th at the Camden Opera House for a night of stories, music, poetry and more.

Featured Community Speakers:

Casey Heard Leonard is a 48-year-old rectal cancer survivor. Casey is a mom to two incredible young men, Brian and Charlie Leonard, and wife to a wonderful husband, also named Casey. A clinical counselor by profession, Casey has a private practice in Camden where she is honored to work with adolescents, adults and couples.

Martha McSweeney Brower is a Bostonian who has been gratefully breathing in the fresh air of Maine for 45 years. One of the longest surviving BRCA gene patients at Dana Farber, she ran her first and only marathon at age 56 in memory of her mother who died of ovarian cancer at that same age. She and her husband Reade reared their three sons in Camden.

Seth Meyer has been the Tennis Director and Head Pro at the Midcoast Recreation Center for 20 years. He spent the entirety of 2024 in a difficult battle with Stage 4, B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, from which he is now in remission. Seth lives & thrives in Camden with his wife Erin and son Will.

Ellen Reynolds served as a teacher, board member, and ultimately Director of Children’s House Montessori School in Camden. She is the owner and operator of Drift Oceanside Inn in Camden with her husband, Casey, and is raising her two sons here in Midcoast Maine.

Also featuring a special musical performance by Bay Chamber musicians, poetry by Dave Morrison, comedic relief from Emily Olga Dillon, a message from New England Cancer Specialist Oncologist Chiara Battelli, and words of wisdom from Reverend Bruce Meyer.

Event Details
Where: Camden Opera House
When: Friday, April 11th at 7:00, doors open at 6:30
Price: $20 (All proceeds go to Gifts of Love, a program of One Community, Many Voices that provides small gifts to those in our community impacted by cancer to foster a sense of belonging.)
Tickets available at:
https://camdenoperahouse.thundertix.com/events/243910