What People are Saying about Benjamin Rubenstein and his Book Twice

Virginia sportscaster Tara Wheeler interviewed Benjamin Rubenstein about his winning strategy against childhood cancer at the John Paul Jones Arena on January 27, 2011. Benjamin Rubenstein discusses his book TWICE: How I Became A Cancer-Slaying Super Man Before I Turned 21.

Benjamin Rubenstein interviewed on Charlottesville Tonight:

Check out Benjamin Rubenstein’s interview May 5, 2011, on Channel 69, in Allentown, PA.

Benjamin Rubenstein had a clear understanding of how he would react to any health and treatment challenge that came his way and stuck to it. I don’t think he always wanted to stick with these strategies, he had to steel himself against high, threatening waves of pain, disappointments, uncertainty and anxieties. In Thus Spake Zarathrustra, Nietzsche expresses his feeling about the Ubermensch (the Superman) who is capable of overcoming weakness, indecision and fate to gain victory (personal, emotional, spiritual) over one’s self-condition. He tells of a shepherd who finds that a snake has crawled into his mouth. The shepherd rises to the occasion by biting off the snake’s head. Nietzsche used the shepherd’s story to express his feeling about the Ubermensch, the Superman. When problems or issues assail me I often think that it is necessary to “bite of the head of the snake” in order to gain control as Benjamin Rubenstein has done.

Rabbi Jonathan Katz

Not your usual cancer memoir and is not to be missed.
Cancer is the toughest opponent many will ever face. Benjamin Rubenstein not only faced it down, he won the rematch. Twice: How I Became a Cancer Slaying Super Man Before I Turned 21 is an uplifting memoir with a grand dose of humor. Hoping to have retired from his cancer slaying career, he faced down testicular cancer and hopes his stories will help readers face down their own illnesses and problems with life. Sure to entertain from the writer of a blog entitled ‘I Still Got Both My Nuts’, Twice is not your usual cancer memoir and is not to be missed.

Midwest Book Review

An inspiring and fascinating personal account of a long and often painful journey. It is estimated that only 150 diagnosis of Ewing’s sarcoma are made annually and only two-thirds of these patients survive more than five years. Rubenstein was diagnosed with Ewings’s at 16, but was determined not to be a “Sick Kid” for “I would never be able to discard the Sick Kid label.” Writing with wit and humor, he chronicles his fight with this terrifying disease. Rubenstein’s belief in the superhuman ability to fight his cancer gave him the courage to face chemotherapy and its devastating side effects, bone biopsies, a second cancer (leukemia), a stem-cell transplant, more chemotherapy, infections, hemorrhagic cystitis, weight loss, and osteoporosis. In spite of invasive diagnostic tests, treatment set-backs, and demanding physical therapy, he never fears he will lose his battle. The strong support of his family is documented with love and occasional frustration at what he sees as over-protectiveness. A University of Virginia economics degree is testament to his survival and entry into young adulthood. Verdict: An  inspiring and fascinating personal account of a long and often painful journey that would appeal to other patients and their families. Jodith Janes, Cleveland Clinic Lib., OH

LibraryJournal.com

In his mind, Rubenstein became a superhero.
Talk about a life journey. Manassas’ own Benjamin Rubenstein – born and raised in the city, he moved to Arlington in 2009 – was diagnosed with bone cancer at age 16, with a second cancer that was caused by the first at age 19, fully  recovered from both years later, and then wrote a book describing the most interesting fashion by which he overcame. He traded his teen-hood for a new persona. In his mind, Rubenstein became a superhero.

Cheryl Chumley, insidenova.com

Not for the squeamish
When Benjamin Rubenstein was sixteen, his leg started hurting so badly that he could barely walk. Medical tests confirmed that he had cancer. This book is a description of just about everything he went through from that moment on, and everything he thought and felt as he was going through it. This book is not for the squeamish. The details of disease are never pretty, and the language is often raw. But this is a real life kid who could easily be one of your classmates and he made it through real life nightmares. With this book he tells the world how he did it. Off the Shelf, Prince William County Library, VA

Off the Shelf, Prince William County, Library, VA

Ben is the definition of the word “perseverance.”
My friend Benjamin Rubenstein has finished his memoir about his experiences with cancer. It’s called: Twice: How I Became A Cancer-Slaying Super Man Before I Turned 21. I always turn to his blog when I need to laugh at cancer. Ben is the definition of the word “perseverance,” both in terms of his attitude towards survival and his determination to get his story published!

pattyhascancer.blogspot.com

Honest, wicked funny, and full of social commentary.
Honest, wicked funny, and full of social commentary, it has been one of my favorite surviorship blogs. Ben’s journey with cancer is a testament to the human spirit, which is why I’m hopeful that his first-ever published book, Twice: How I Became a Cancer Slaying Superman Before I  Turned 21, will find a welcome audience amongst fellow survivors and their families for years to come. As one can imagine, amongst the  dozens and dozens of survivor-genre books that are published each year it can be difficult for a first-time author to have his voice heard clearly.  Consequently, that’s why I’m making this post in the hope that you can help spread the word about Ben’s new book.

Duane Castro-Bailey, thejournalofaprizefighter.com

Harrowing chronicle
Twice is an harrowing chronicle of how horrible it is to battle cancer-not once but twice before the age of twenty-one. Ben Rubeinstein logs each doctor’s appointment and procedure in excruciating detail- his only respite seems to be watching sports and playing with his Xbox on a  plasma TV. Curiously that becomes his salvation.

James M. Trivers, author of Hamburger Heaven

Refreshingly raw and real
Twice is a refreshingly raw and real account of the author’s battle with two cancers. It encompasses his clinical tribulations and his social interactions (positive and negative) while dealing with a life we would not want. I admire his resiliency and his humor (however crass). This is not a namby-pamby book – which is precisely why it is so good. Well worth reading.

Michael Foley, amazon.com

I just couldn’t put it down
Captivated by the artwork on the cover, I flipped through the chapters to see the cartoons. Intrigued, I opened to the first chapter and started reading. That was about 6 PM. Two hours later, I realized I was hungry. I warmed up some Domino’s pizza (you have to read the book to understand) and had a beer. I kept reading, because I just couldn’t put it down; by 11 PM, I had read the entire book. I was sorry it was finished.

Sandra L. Fox, amazon.com

Emotionally super-charged
It took me approximately 1.5 days to finish the book. There really aren’t adequate words to describe how emotionally super-charged, honest, and riveting it was.

M.M. Bean, amazon.com

No candy coating
Benjamin Rubenstein’s sardonic saga of how he punched the lights out of his cancer is fresh, entertaining, and unexpected. No candy coating and lots of grisly details. Through it all, Benjamin stays himself – oblivious teenager and college kid.

Sherry M. Charles, amazon.com

“I didn’t want to be the sick kid.”
To help him fight off cancer, Benjamin Rubenstein pretended that he was a superhero. “I didn’t want to be the sick kid. I never thought of myself as a Sick Kid type of person. I think that’s what bothered me the most. Because of that fear, I created the illusion.” Now that he has a clean bill of health, Rubenstein has turned the story of his illness into a book, titled Twice: How I Became a Cancer-Slaying Superman Before I Turned 21. According to the American Cancer Society, 2,570 Americans are diagnosed with bone cancer like Benjamin Rubenstein’s every year.

The SurvivorsClub.org