Living in Color
A Story of Love, in Sickness and In Health
This is an uplifting testimonial about love, family, and the human condition.
Michael Murphy’s Living in Color is a memoir and an unusual love story chronicling his wife’s nearly ten-year-long struggle with cancer. Their beautiful journey is related with painful, stark honesty.
When Michael and Margot first meet, there are obstacles. He’s forty-three and of hard-drinking Irish descent; she’s twenty-seven and Peruvian; both are married to others. Yet they are irresistibly drawn to one another, and describe their lives before meeting each other as “colorless.” Murphy successfully conveys this mutual attraction and eventual soul-mate connection in unapologetic terms.
Their initial happiness is fleeting, however, because Margot soon discovers that she has breast cancer. So begins a years-long roller coaster of diagnoses, doctors, and determination as the cancer evolves into a much worse prognosis. At one point, Margot is given less than six months to live; this is the jumping off point for the story. Over the years, Michael is forced into the role of caregiver—a job that he does not want, of course, but one at which he excels: “I’d once told her I would die for her. It turned out that the much greater task was for her to live for me.”
The authentic prose features flashbacks that are seamlessly interwoven with present events. Murphy describes, in depth, the numerous treatments and procedures that Margot had to endure. He praises her determination as she fought for more time with loved ones. He accumulates knowledge alongside medical personnel, and acts as his wife’s advocate and ally. With a mixture of honesty, pathos, dark humor, emotionality, and detailed medical information that is interspersed with dramatic scenes, the book is powerful despite its inevitable conclusion.
Meticulous descriptions honor Margot’s life, which shines through in the text. She becomes a beacon for Michael even after her death, and he expresses gratitude that they were able to afford her treatments. He is inspired to better himself as a result, and founds the Love from Margot Foundation, which provides support to low-income cancer patients.
Nearly sixty photographs depict the couple’s life together, and include shots of Margot’s family, Michael’s four children, trips together, and time fighting Margot’s illness. The photos serve as very personal glimpses into their lives and tribulations, humanizing them and their battle. These images corroborate the personal story unfolding, allowing outsiders to bear witness to private interludes.
Though Margot and Michael’s relationship is shown to change, so, too, is there an evident and even deeper connection formed between them because of the difficult journey they traveled together. Living in Color is an uplifting testimonial about love, family, and the human condition.
Reviewed by
Robin Farrell Edmunds
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
