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When Walela is diagnosed at twenty-three with advanced stage blood cancer, they're suddenly thrust into the unsympathetic world of tubes and pills, doctors who don’t use their correct pronouns, and hordes of \"well-meaning\" but patronizing people offering unsolicited advice as Walela navigates rocky personal relationships and shares their story online. But this experience also deepens their relationship to their ancestors, providing added support from another realm. Walela's diagnosis becomes a catalyst for their self-realization. As they fill out forms in the insurance office in downtown Los Angeles or travel to therapy in wealthier neighborhoods, they begin to understand that cancer is where all forms of their oppressed identities intersect. In Bless the Blood: A Cancer Memoir , the author details a galvanizing account of their survival despite the U.S. medical system, and of the struggle to face death unafraid.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9780593529508","publication_date":"20250128","publisher":"Penguin Young Readers Group","slug":"bless-the-blood","subtitle":"A Cancer Memoir","title":"Bless the Blood"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"YAN051230","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Special Needs for Teens","score":0.8023,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"YAN006150","confidence_band":"medium","label":"LGBTQ+ Biographies","score":0.7819,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"YAN038110","confidence_band":"medium","label":"African American U.S. History for Teens","score":0.7671,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"YAN051230","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Special Needs for Teens","score":0.8023,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"YAN006150","confidence_band":"medium","label":"LGBTQ+ Biographies","score":0.7819,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"YAN038110","confidence_band":"medium","label":"African American U.S. History for Teens","score":0.7671,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"YAN006150","confidence_band":"high","label":"LGBTQ+ Biographies","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"YAN038110","confidence_band":"high","label":"African American U.S. History for Teens","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"YAN051230","confidence_band":"high","label":"Special Needs for Teens","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Special Needs for Teens","score":0.8023,"slug":"special-needs-for-teens"},{"label":"LGBTQ+ Biographies","score":0.7819,"slug":"lgbtq-biographies"},{"label":"African American U.S. History for Teens","score":0.7671,"slug":"african-american-u-s-history-for-teens"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers interested in YA poetry and essays about cancer and medical racism"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Audre Lorde"],"book_id":"9780143135203","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780143135203.jpg?v=5daaf5871542f83e","score":0.7131,"title":"The Cancer Journals","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780143135203"},{"authors":["Marvelyn Brown","Courtney Martin"],"book_id":"9780061562396","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780061562396.jpg?v=b5977b539577db31","score":0.7112,"title":"The Naked Truth","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780061562396"},{"authors":["Anne Boyer"],"book_id":"9781250757982","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781250757982.jpg?v=78a2681af317d23e","score":0.7085,"title":"The Undying","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781250757982"},{"authors":["Natalie Goldberg"],"book_id":"9781611805673","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781611805673.jpg?v=1581b9e38c9c81a4","score":0.6937,"title":"Let the Whole Thundering World Come Home","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781611805673"},{"authors":["Camryn Garrett"],"book_id":"9781984829986","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781984829986.jpg?v=806e39b6d34d7ee2","score":0.6911,"title":"Full Disclosure","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781984829986"},{"authors":["Azra Raza"],"book_id":"9781541699519","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781541699519.jpg?v=dd60b78e18f90d31","score":0.6861,"title":"The First Cell","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781541699519"},{"authors":["Mahogany L. 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