Betty Rollin

INTERVIEW

October 6, 2000

Twenty-five years ago Betty Rollin, a network television correspondent for PBS and NBC, found out she had breast cancer shortly after doing a story on the very topic. Realizing she had more questions than answers, Rollin wrote her book, FIRST, YOU CRY, about her experience with the disease. Bookreporter.com's Senior Writer Jana Siciliano read the book which has just been reissued by the publisher, HarperCollins. She had a chance to ask Rollin questions about her life, her books, and ultimately her survival. Don't miss this candid interview with a woman who survived and lived to talk --- and laugh --- about it.

BRC: Congratulations on the 25th Anniversary of the publication of FIRST, YOU CRY. Many of us remember the publication of this book as a landmark moment for women. How did the reissue of the book come about?

BR:  My 25th cancer anniversary seemed like a good time to reissue the book --- with a new introduction and epilogue. HarperCollins agreed that there's a new generation of women who would be interested in this book, either because they have breast cancer or because they know someone who has, or just that they're somewhat afraid of getting it.  

BRC: Why do you think this book "holds up" after 25 years?

BR:  I guess mainly because, on one level, it's just a good story. So it's like a novel. It's about a young woman who has everything going for her and wham! She gets socked with a scary, shocking, life-threatening and sexually traumatic disease. And then she gets through it. One reason it holds up is that it's about a disease that a lot of women get.  And those who don't have it are afraid of getting it. And it's a true story. I think there's always a power in that.  

BRC: In the past few years we have seen more books published about breast cancer, usually in the month of October in conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Do you think the strides that have been made, between your own work and that of other women like Susan Love, are making a difference in how women react to a diagnosis of breast cancer and subsequent treatment?

BR:  I don't put myself in the same category as Dr. Love --- or the many others who have done the real work. My only contribution has been this book, which apparently comforts women for various reasons --- and makes them laugh.

BRC: FIRST, YOU CRY starts with the frightening revelation that, in the course of doing your job, you found yourself reporting on Betty Ford's illness without knowing you had it as well. Did you have a lot of anger toward the doctors who left you sitting for a year with a cancerous tumor without detecting it?  Do you feel that your journalistic abilities helped you to get information that you needed at the time you were sick so that you could fight the disease with two fists?

BR:  I was misdiagnosed by only one doctor and yes, it made me angry. Later. At first I was too upset and scared to be angry. At the time I was first diagnosed, I turned to Jell-O and did not use my journalistic abilities at all. (I like to think I'd be different --- tougher --- today.)

BRC: Why do you think your doctor was so hesitant in telling you the truth about the lump? It seems like doctors now are afraid of telling anybody anything since their mistakes could land them in court at some point. What did you deduce was the fear he had about your situation?

BR:  He wasn't hesitant. He was just stupid. I don't think in 1975 he was worried about anything legal.

BRC: What do you want FIRST, YOU CRY to mean for women --- those with and without breast cancer?  Has this changed since you first wrote the book?

BR:  It's dangerous for a writer to say what she/he wants a book to mean to a reader. I've had such a range of reactions over the years. I often hear that women enjoyed the book--- it is a story, after all --- and that it made them laugh. I like that. I also like to think the book makes them less afraid. None of that has changed.

BRC: You have used situations in your life to bring attention to important issues, such as breast cancer detection and treatment in FIRST, YOU CRY and euthanasia in LAST WISH. Do you, as a writer, delve into your own personal pain in the hopes that it will help other people have information they need to make similar decisions, or is your writing more of a catharsis for you?

BR:  I wrote the two books for different reasons. With FIRST, YOU CRY, it was mostly just to try to make sense of what was happening to me. Writing helps do that. But I wasn't thinking in terms of helping anyone else, frankly. Not then. With LAST WISH, I had a mission. I wanted people to know my mother's story because I knew other people had to be going through this and I wanted to help them and also to alert people who didn't know about this situation. Today I'm involved in the Physician Aid in Dying movement.

BRC: Your book is so unremittingly honest about your experiences, fears and triumphs. Did you ever think that if you weren't a writer at the core, you would have found the whole experience much more devastating since you wouldn't have had an outlet for your emotional ups and downs? When you were going through your treatments could you step outside yourself and visual the book as something apart from what you were going through?

BR:  Yes, when bad things happen to you, it's great to be a writer.

BRC: Can you share some of the feedback that you have heard about the book over the years?

BR:  It's been incredible. At first it shocked me because, as I said, I didn't write FYC to be kind. But it's been 25 years of women telling me and writing me that my book "got them through it." I guess mostly it's just that "me too" thing. Especially about the odd feelings (that we all have).

BRC: When did you decide to be a writer? You started out as an actress after college and then sold a book idea to Doubleday --- do you remember what it was and what your first foray into publishing was like?

BR:  I was an actress briefly after college and to make some money, began doing research for a freelance writer I knew, then another. Then I thought, I can do this. And it turned out I could. I began writing magazine articles. My first book idea I sold to Doubleday. It was a non-book, really, a collection of marriage vows. But it was thrilling. I was only 23.

BRC: During the recent memoir wave, did you keep up on books like the ones from Mary Karr or Kathryn Harrison? If so, what do you think about the work that is being published about people's dark pasts?

BR:  I love memoirs. Some are better than others, of course. One of my favorite cancer memoirs is Katherine Rich's THE RED DEVIL.  

BRC: You are no stranger to controversy, like the authors noted above. What has given you the strength to tell the truth about your life and then elegantly handle your detractors in the media and society?

BR:  I find the truth easier than making things up! It's so helpful --- both to oneself and to others --- to just tell the real story. Otherwise, why bother? I've actually not had much static from people. The vast majority of my readers have been incredibly warm and appreciative. I'm very grateful to have touched people. And they touch me by their reactions.

BRC: What particular skill did you pick up from working in television that most affected the way you write?

BR:  TV writing just helps one to be concise. I know how to condense!

BRC: What books would you prescribe to writers interested in writing their own memoirs?

BR:  It doesn't work that way. Reading isn't going to turn anyone into a memoir writer. People sometimes underestimate the importance of being a professional writer and you get there by writing --- and publishing. There are so many ghostwritten books these days that people get the impression that anyone with a story to tell has a book. Not so.

BRC: What are you reading now?

BR:  I'm reading the MORGAN biography by Jean Strouse, a fantastic piece of work.

BRC: Besides publicity for the reissue of the book, are you doing anything special to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month this year? Have you done anything special in the past?  

BR:  I do a fair amount of speaking. I give what I call my "cheery breast cancer talk." It's about the brighter side of breast cancer --- all the advances that have happened. And I talk about what I learned from the experience and, curiously, how I feel I benefited from it. I'm not recommending it, but there are plusses. Like being grateful for every day you continue to breathe.

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