They Never Want to Tell You transcends the negative metaphors and cliches of life-threatening disease, to give voice to the culture of cancer and to the behavior and attitudes of those who function within that culture-as patients, medical professionals, family, and friends.

In these extraordinary narratives, children coping with cancer reveal their most personal experiences, and they speak with a candor that breaks through the cultural taboos ostensibly designed to protect us from the disease. The rich, compassionate, and honest words of these children give...