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Join us for a conversation and signing with local author and founder of the award-winning #whatshesaidproject, Shannon Ivey, for the release of her new book, "Welcome to the Sh*t Show: A Memoir of Colorectal Cancer and the Power of Self-Advocacy".Shannon Ivey, MFA, AEA, PCC (she/her), is the author of "Welcome to the Sh*t Show: A Memoir of Colorectal Cancer and the Power of Self-Advocacy" (University of South Carolina Press, February 2026). Timed for release just ahead of Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in March, the book blends humor, candor, and research into a memoir-guide-manifesto about reclaiming one’s agency in moments of medical crisis. Grounded in her own experience surviving late-stage colorectal cancer in her early 40s, Ivey illuminates the realities of young-onset cancer, medical bias, hidden disability, and the urgent need for informed patient self-advocacy.
Ivey is a writer, patient advocate, International Coaching Federation–certified professional coach, and the founder of the award-winning #whatshesaidproject. After more than twenty years as a professor, actor, and director in traditional theatre, she realized she had spent her career helping others tell stories that did not reflect her own life or the lives of people she loved. That recognition led her into deeper study of narrative power through Theatre of the Oppressed, first-person storytelling events, essay and creative nonfiction, Narrative Medicine, and coaching. Diagnosed with late-stage colorectal cancer at forty-two, Ivey became an empowered patient leader in Colontown, the largest online community for people with colorectal cancer, where she champions equity, informed decision-making, and compassionate care. Her lived experience and her research into medical inequities, crisis psychology, and narrative healing shape her writing, coaching practice, and advocacy.
She is currently pursuing a PhD at the European Graduate School, where she studies creativity and hope in post-crisis contexts. A two-time TEDx speaker and “creative rabble-rouser,” she continues to explore how personal storytelling can catalyze community and social change.
She lives in Columbia, South Carolina, with her dog, where she grows vegetables, writes creative nonfiction, supports grassroots community work, performs with a local improv troupe, and is the proud mother of her brilliant son.
https://allgoodbooks.com/events/4424120260305
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