EPISODE 33: I'M STILL HERE: A MEMOIR ON SURVIVING TERMINAL CANCER AND LIVING YOUR TRUTH

EPISODE SUMMARY:

The evolution of our guest today is a truly amazing one filled with lots of hardship but also a great amount of love. Martina Reaves is the author of the new book, I’m Still Here that recently came out in April. Martina is a mother, wife, lawyer, and author. She has lived a life of twists and turns that have now led her to a happy, healthy life where she is working on finishing up her second book.

From moving to San Francisco in the late 1960’s to attending law school, divorcing her husband and coming out as a lesbian in the 1980s and surviving Cancer twice (one time was a terminal diagnosis) and becoming an author, Martina Reaves shares her astounding story.

Martina Reaves:

Martina Reaves moved to San Francisco in 1969 at the age of 20, where she became a caregiver at a preschool. With no real growth opportunities in the career, she started thinking about her possible career choices and settled on attending a law school in San Francisco in the 1970s. During the span of law school, Martine became a lawyer but also went through major life events such as growing apart and divorcing her husband and coming out of the closet.

Around this same time, Martina Reaves came out as gay in the early 1980s and started her relationship with her wife Tanya. Martina worked at an established family law firm for about five years before discovering that this was not really for her. Martina Reaves and her wife had their son in 1986, being one of the first lesbian couples to be having children through IVF. Martina’s journey has involved navigating a world that was not set up for lgbtqa+ and their kids. Also, in 1986, Martina Reaves pivoted in her career choices and became a mediator for divorce up until 2009.

During this stage of her life, Martina Reaves was also diagnosed with lymphoma that she successfully beat while continuing to work as a mediator. While fighting her cancer, Martina got the bug to become an author. Martina heard a voice in her head to become a writer that continued to get stronger and stronger. So, in 2006, Martina began to take writing courses. Originally wanting to write about her created family, she was filled with motivation from courses on writing fiction from experience and memoirs.

In 2009, Martina Reaves was diagnosed a second time and this time with terminal tongue cancer. She spent almost a year having to walk the line between life and death while going through intense chemotherapy treatment. During this time, Martina began writing about her journey with cancer, her experiences, and her created family.

Now thankfully, Martina Reaves is in recovery. Martina has just published her new book, I’m Still Here in April, a collection of memoirs covering all parts of her life. Martina Reaves is happily married with her wife Tanya now for over forty years as well as is working on her upcoming second book!

I’m Still Here

Martina Reave’s released her new book, I’m Still Here, in April. The book is a memoir about Martina’s journey through her life that is filled with hope, fear, family, and friendship. The book encompasses her cancer odyssey, her life story, and chronicles of hope, fear, family, friendship, perseverance, and how she lived even with a terminal cancer diagnosis. After receiving some sneak peek’s in today’s episode, pick up Martina’s memoir to hear more about her life!