"This heartrending memoir humanizes an experience that most choose never to understand. Anyone who has faced catastrophic illness will empathize with this family and find comfort in the realization that our struggles are universal."
"Dance When the Brain Says No captures what so many of us are afraid to accept and understand...cancer can affect anyone at any time. We, the ones not affected, must not let our friends, loved ones, even people we meet in our daily lives go through this alone."
"This book is very powerful, honest, and heartfelt. It provides a realistic window into how intense life becomes for all involved after a brain tumor diagnosis."
"The human spirit has an undeniable tendency to tell cancer to shove it. "Dance When the Brain Says No" is the memoir of a mother who reflects on her daughter's brain tumor diagnosis, her determination to live her life in spite of the disease, and the inspiration her tenacity brought to bear. "Dance When the Brain Says No" will be of interest to anyone seeking inspirational cancer memoirs."
"I read this book from cover to cover without a break. It held my attention because of the tension set up by the author with juxtaposition of chapters about the diagnosis and treatment of a young woman's brain cancer with chapters about her life leading up to the diagnosis. One knows that the illness is coming while Leslie is leading a life of excitement and promise after graduating from high school, completely unaware of what is to come. Leslie's own poems, letters and heart-wrenching journals are interspersed. I hope that her mother's gripping memoir will help bring to light the contributions that Leslie would undoubtedly have brought to the world had she lived."
"The vivid and detailed writing, cross-cut with Leslie's life before becoming ill, create the world of Leslie and her family and friends during Leslie's battle with brain cancer. Leslie's own writings are wonderful. I was repeatedly squeezed by emotion."
"I completed reading Dance When the Brain Says No last week - reading, I must say, with tears for the most part. Love and effort shine through on every page. A terrific tribute to Leslie and indeed to all of her family. Such courage and determination as well as just plain hard work are seldom seen."
"I began Dance When the Brain Says No yesterday and did not stop until I finished it well past bedtime. I could not contain my tears. I've always been drawn to true stories about people lives (there are enough real tragedies that we don't need to make up any). This memoir was touchingly honest and heartbreaking. What a gift of the author to keep a journal of events, feelings, details to ease the moment, with the option to try to make sense of things later on, hard enough though it must have been to revisit them. The book was very well written. Leslie's irrepressible spirit and her ability to express her thoughts and frustrations reveal a truly remarkable girl."
"An intensely sad but rewarding book. Books of this type can have a useful purpose, in so far as they provide a window into how other people cope when faced with the threatened loss of a loved one. Having left this world at 21 years of age, one cannot help but wonder what kind of life Leslie Doyle might have lived had she not had this illness. In 2009 she would have been 43. Although many years have passed since her death, her mother has done great justice to Leslie's memory."
"Leslie was an incredibly remarkable young woman. I loved getting to know her through reading her letters and poems in this memoir. What mother wouldn't want their daughter to be just like Leslie? I can't imagine."
"I found this story gripping. What is amazing to me is that the author had such a complete record of this part of her life, and it was well written and polished. As I reflect on the book, I realize that we all pass through different phases of our lives, and each major change in circumstances requires some big adjustments."