The Cost of Hope: A Memoir
“Equal parts marriage confessional and skilled investigative report. It’s the story of the sometimes amusing, sometimes baffling relationship and hectic but rewarding life she shared with [husband Terence] Foley for over two decades. It’s also the fascinating account of an illness—its origins, composition and progression—and of the cost (mental, physical and financial) of trying to treat it via the complicated, frustrating, outrageously expensive American healthcare system....[Bennett] vividly presents the startling price and the occasional payoffs of hope.”--The New York Times Book Review “Moving and intelligent…Like Joan Didion inThe Year of Magical Thinking,Joyce Carol Oates inA Widow’s Tale,and Kay Redfield Jamison inNothing Was the Same,Bennett finds, in her grief over her husband’s death, an opportunity to explore their fascinating and complex life together…. Foley is a larger-than-life character, and Bennett paints him vividly and affectionately. It doesn’t take long for the reader to fall in love with this guy and also with his wife, the warm and honest narrator of their story….A deeply felt memoir [to] savor.”--The Boston Globe “Poignant…Part love story, part expose of the absurdities of the American healthcare system, Bennett will open your eyes while filling them with tears.”--Redbook “Important, relevant, and riveting....The implicit message [ofThe Cost of Hope]...is that if this brilliant woman...can't figure out the health care system and its many dips and traps, then no one can.”--Portland Oregonian “[A] memoir squarely in the midst of our debate about the American health-care system and how broken it actually is…The Cost of Hopemight be expected to come in under some vague heading like ‘Good and Good for You,’ but Bennett moves her book far beyond all that because she’s such a terrific writer....[The Cost of Hope] isa wonderful story about an engaging, even heroic, American family.”--Carolyn See,Washington Post “Both a memoir of a marriage and a sharp piece of investigative journalism....WithThe Cost of Hopeshe has not only memorialized [her husband] artfully, but turned his experience into a probing look at modern medicine and the choices it forces upon us.”--Bookpage  “[The Cost of Hope] illuminates the conundrum Americans face over the high cost of care—the fact that we will do almost anything to keep our loved ones alive because we can't bear to let them go.”--Wall Street Journal “Bennett is a skillful writer…[and her] candor is winning....[A] loving picture of a very human response to illness.”--Philadelphia Inquirer “A a love story about two ridiculously mismatched people; a portrait of a maddening, brilliant man; and an examination of our nearly unfathomable health care system…written with such honesty that when you open the book you feel like you're stepping right into their life.”--Minneapolis Star-Tribune “Must reading....[Bennett] carries off a high-wire act worthy of a novel, as she weaves together a hilarious retelling of the couples courtship [and] their cross-country lives together in the U.S. [with] a heart-tugging tale of their nine-year battle with Terence’s cancer. Along the way, Amanda dishes one of the most illuminating and digestible accounts I’ve read of why the U.S. health care system is an unfathomable mess. The book is an impressive feat and a darn good read, reflecting skills Amanda acquired during decades of reporting and editing, as well as her biting with, knack for just the right anecdote, and perfect ear for the incisive quote.”-- Michael Waldholz,Forbes “The hot-button issue of unregulated health-care costs underscores this engaging memoir of marriage and terminal illness….While retracing the path of [her husband’s] terminal prognosis, [Bennett] uncovered a flawed system of mismanaged lab information, astronomical insurance charges and conditional physician reimbursements. The author leaves readers with more questions than answers after dealing with an industry that sets prices “like a giant Chinese bazaar” yet facilitated her husband’s participation in experimental clinical trials….A moving, beautifully written chronicle of true love and a clarion call for health-care reform.”--Kirkus Reviews(starred review) “[An] affecting memoir….[Bennett’s] story of how to fight for any hope you can get when there seems to be none, provides touching and instructive wisdom for the millions affected by cancer.”--Publishers Weekly