I'm Still Here: A Memoir

by Martina Reaves

Overview

In 1969, at age twenty, Martina moves to San Francisco. She lives in a commune, marries her hippie streetcar driver, and moves away from the city—first to Mendocino County, Oregon, and then to the Virgin Islands. In 1980, Martina comes out. She finds her life partner, Tanya, at work, and in 1986 they have a son, Cooper.

In 2008, Martina is diagnosed with serious tongue cancer. Her journey in the aftermath of this diagnosis is one of hope, fear, family, friendship, perseverance, and learning to live with a terminal diagnosis.

Reaves braids these strands of her life together in I’m Still Here, presenting readers with a nuanced, poignant exploration of what it means to live—and love—authentically.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781631528767
Publisher:	She Writes Press
Publication date:	04/21/2020
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Martina Reaves grew up in a Navy family and lived in thirty-four places before she finally settled in her current home in Berkeley with her wife, Tanya, and their son, Cooper, who now lives in Oakland. She considers living in one place for over thirty years a major accomplishment. A lawyer who hated practicing law, she became a mediator in 1986 and worked with divorcing couples and neighbors with disputes. In 2007, she dropped writing legal documents and began writing fiction and memoir, and she has been at it ever since. She loves creating serenity in her home, gardening, reading, going to plays, and that the music venue Freight and Salvage is five minutes from her home. She thinks eating is wonderful but cooking is boring.

Table of Contents

The End of the Line 1

Tongue 5

The Commune 11

Talking is Highly Overrated 14

Behaving Badly 18

Embracing the Mask 21

Shangri-La 25

Celebrate 33

Paradise Lost 35

Crazy-Making Days 39

Ukiah Life 48

Limbo 55

Stuck in the Land of EST 58

Let's Have a Normal Life 64

You're Straight? 71

Stalking the Rat 76

Fracture Lines 90

Hope 93

Catapulting into Therapy 102

Moment to Moment 106

Lobbing Grenades 112

Difficult Decisions 117

Nothing Can Steal Our Joy 125

Let It Begin 132

Settling Down 140

Wishful Thinking 143

Our Southern Connections 156

Now What? 161

Outside the Box 169

Spiders in the Corner 174

Another Trip South 181

The Lap of the Family 183

Crystalline Days 188

Family Troubles 198

Uh Oh 206

Mom, You Were Never Cool! 210

We Are Family 216

Give Thanks 223

Less Than One Percent 235

Epilogue 245

Acknowledgments 248

Editorial Reviews

2020 Living Now Book Awards Gold Winner in Grieving/Death & Dying
2021 IPPY Awards Bronze Winner in Autobiography/Memoir III (Personal Struggle/Health Issues)
2020 Readers' Favorite Book Awards Silver Medal in Non-Fiction: Health (Medical)
2020 Best Book Awards Finalist in Health: Cancer
2020 Best Book Awards Finalist in Health: Death & Dying

“A story rich in emotional description…”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Martina’s story is poignant, inspiring, and funny, and she tells it with a fresh voice, imbued with self-awareness and wisdom. . . . This memoir will catch and hold you with its resonance. It will also breeze you through so smoothly, you might well find yourself turning back to reread when you reach the last page.”
—Mollie Katzen, James Beard Hall of Fame laureate and author of the Moosewood Cookbook

“Immediate, visceral, loaded with humor and insight, I’m Still Here is like an intimate conversation with a wonderful friend—it leaves you feeling enlightened, enriched, and a little happier than you were before. Savor this book and share it with people you love!”
—David Schweidel, author of Milkweed National Fiction Prize winner Confidence of the Heart and coauthor of What Men Call Treasure

From the Publisher