In The End of My Life Is Killing Me: The Unexpected Joys of a Cancer Slacker (Zibby Publishing), the New York Times bestselling author Annabelle Gurwitch faces life’s biggest curveball only to find resilience in the most unlikely places.
After Gurwitch received an out-of-the blue diagnosis of Stage 4 lung cancer, an existential dread set in. Precision medicine offered a temporary reprieve — but instead of turning into a cancer warrior, she declared herself a cancer slacker. Her motto: no runs, no ribbons, no religion.
In this hilariously and deeply affecting meditation on mortality, the actress and activist illuminates life with chronic disease and inequities in care and celebrates tiny victories, the crusty ends of baguettes, the discreet pleasure of sucking at a hobby and the unshakable bond of female friendship. She upends the notion of living each day as if it were your last, as she discovers you can carpe too much diem, embracing, instead, the extraordinariness of the ordinary.
The book, slated for publication in March 2026, is available now for pre-orders.
Gurwitch is an actress, an activist, the author of six books and a two-time Thurber Prize for American Humor finalist. Her essays and satire have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, among other publications. Her books include I See You Made an Effort — a New York Times bestseller — and You're Leaving When? The latter was named a New York Times Favorite Book for Healthy Living. Gurwitch co-hosted the fan favorite Dinner and a Movie on TBS and was a regular commentator on NPR. She is a Jewish mother, a lung cancer survivor and patient advocate, a terrible ukulele player and an unrepentant cat lady who lives in Los Angeles.
A former Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop keynoter, she will return to teach humor and essay writing at the March 26-28 workshop.