Gretchen Stelter is a freelance book editor & writer from Madison, Wisconsin. She was diagnosed with breast cancer at 39. She has volunteered with Girls, Inc. for nine years and co-chaired the Safety & Security Committee for ThrillerFest, which is a conference for thriller writers. In this episode, Gretchen reads her piece “Let Me Hear Your Body Talk” from the Wildfire book, “Igniting the Fire Within” and which was originally published in our 2022 “Cancer Culture” issue. Gretchen’s essay is about the ways we share our body by choice - or not. April and Gretchen will discuss the ways our bodies are objectified sexually and medically, reconciling receiving unwanted body attention pre-cancer to becoming invisible sometimes after a cancer diagnosis, and the loneliness that can come with breast cancer both inside and outside the cancer community. They will also talk about choosing when to step out of the cancer closet and the possibility of when sharing can backfire.
