The
arsenic in the drinking water in the entire province of Viterbo is
over the level permitted by the European Union, enough to cause
serious health problems, including lymphoma,
a type of cancer. There are about 1,000 different kinds of lymphoma,
divided into three groups. People in the first group can be cured.
People in the second group, if they get the proper treatment, can
expect to live almost as long as people who don’t have lymphoma.
People in the third group are going to die pretty quickly no matter
what they do.
Alice thinks she’s in the
third group. Maybe she is. But that doesn’t justify what she did.
Beyond the Leash
a
novel by Rose Romano
From the back cover:
“I just had this paranoid
idea that after I die and people come to look through my stuff,
someone who reads English and had a loved one who died of cancer,
will see all the stupid things I’ve written in these notebooks and
will be hurt, angry, and offended. But I really don’t mean to
belittle the pain and fear of others. I just want to belittle my
own.”
Rose
Romano is an Italian-American living in Italy for too many years. In
the United States, she published a literary journal, la bella
figura, and founded malafemmina press, publishing only the
work of Italian-Americans. Her books of poetry (Vendetta and
The Wop Factor) and her anthology (La bella figura: a
choice), all published by malafemmina press,
are included in the collections of many public and university
libraries. Her work has been taught at universities in the United
States and Canada. She has organized and participated in poetry
readings and book presentations in the United States, Canada, and
Italy.
She
was diagnosed with cancer in December 2010. Since her last
chemotherapy/immunotherapy treatments in May 2012, she’s been in
complete remission and total denial.
Beyond
the Leash is available from
Amazon and other online stores.
ISBN: 979-12-200-1763-3
