Allison Sweet Grant, a writer and former psychiatric nurse practitioner, has recently released her new book, *Lump*, a deeply personal account that challenges traditional narratives surrounding cancer. Together with her husband, fellow author Adam Grant, she shared insights on living through illness and the creative journey that followed in an exclusive interview.
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In early 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic began to alter lives around the globe, Allison received life-altering news that she had breast cancer. Initially, putting her experiences into words seemed a distant thought. However, as she navigated treatment, she instinctively turned to poetry as a means of processing her feelings. “I really didn’t start thinking about it as a book until I was done with my treatment,” she explained in the interview.
*Lump*, published by Little, Brown and Company, consists of a series of poems and reflections. This blend of creative nonfiction aims to illustrate the multifaceted journey of illness and recovery, diverging from the more prescriptive tone typically found in literature about cancer. Allison wanted to portray the messiness of her experience. “My feelings about this experience are not perfect,” she noted. “Sometimes they completely contradict each other…cancer is a messy thing.”
Throughout this challenging period, Adam played a supportive role, focusing on the well-being of both Allison and their three children. The emotional weight of the situation was immense. Adam articulated the difficulty of witnessing Allison’s struggle, stating, “The anxiety and fear of ‘Is she going to be okay?’ was a challenge for all of us.”
At one point during her treatment, Allison penned goodbye letters to her family, highlighting the severity of her situation. The prospect of losing her prompted a wave of devastation. Adam, who is renowned for his own literary contributions, admitted finding it difficult to express himself in the same way as Allison. He candidly said, “I do not have Allison’s way with words…I read *Lump* and thought, ‘This is a work of art.’”
For Allison, creating the memoir required grappling with how to convey the realities of living with cancer. She expressed her awareness that writing about such a topic might not seem appealing at first glance. However, she found comfort in the honesty that emerged during her writing process. “Writing this book gave me the opportunity to look at the language that we use in cancer care…a lot of that language felt very odd and, in some ways, off to me,” she explained.
Allison also drew inspiration from other public figures who openly shared their struggles with cancer, particularly actress Shannen Doherty, who passed away from metastatic breast cancer in 2024. These examples motivated her to feel less isolated in her experience and encouraged her to discuss her own journey more openly. “It’s incredibly inspirational…I didn’t have to hide,” she stated.
Through *Lump*, Allison aims to validate the full spectrum of emotional responses to cancer. “My hope is that readers feel seen when they read *Lump*, feel like it’s safe to have the entire range of emotions that you have with cancer,” she said, reinforcing that nothing about this experience is off-limits.
The couple’s shared challenges have also reshaped their perspectives on recovery. Allison rejected the notion of characterising her ordeal as simply a ‘journey,’ instead suggesting that true healing takes time and is an ongoing process. “The journey is the healing part of cancer—not the diagnosis and treatment and recovery, but what comes after,” she stated.
Their collaborative relationship has been strengthened through this process. They have previously co-authored children’s books together, but this memoir represented a new level of exploration in themes of mental health and resilience. Adam expressed hope that the success of *Lump* would encourage Allison to continue sharing her experiences through writing.
“Allison captures the paradox, the duality of how those things can go hand-in-hand,” he detailed, reflecting on the depth of Allison’s writing. “She writes about feeling healthy when she’s sick and sick when she’s healthy… the combination of relief and fear at the same time.”
In essence, *Lump* stands as more than just an account of Allison’s battle with cancer; it is a multifaceted exploration of the human experience intertwined with illness. It invites readers to recognise the emotional complexities that can coexist in the face of health crises. The book is currently available in bookstores, inviting readers to delve into its raw and honest reflections.