“Personal Relationship” - “Celebration”
Remen expounds, “THE PEOPLE WHO come to the Commonweal retreats all have a persona relationship with cancer. Some were diagnosed a few weeks ago; others have survived their diagnosis by many years. Some are living with cancer and others dying of it. We make room for them all." The metaphorical ‘personal relationship’ underscores the pervasiveness of cancer in the individuals. Being diagnosed with cancer is a marker which identities all the individuals who arrive at the retreats.
“Blow” - “The Trajectory”
Remen writes, "My beloved grandfather died when I was seven, and my parents were concerned about how I would take the blow of his loss. When I did not speak of it for several weeks, my worried mother had asked me what it was like for me now that Grandpa was gone." The emblematic blow underscore the emotional stress which Remen was bound to incur after losing her grandfather. Her mother recognized that Remen was bound to be distressed owing to her bond with her grandfather.
