Cancer Is Complicated, Clea Shearer
Cancer Is Complicated, Clea Shearer
List: $20.00 | Sale: $14.00
Club: $10.00

Cancer Is Complicated
And Other Unexpected Lessons I've Learned

Author: Clea Shearer

Narrator: Clea Shearer, Maria Shriver

Unabridged: 5 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 09/23/2025

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

A comforting, empowering, practical, and beautifully written guide to living with breast cancer from Clea Shearer, cofounder of The Home Edit

In 2022, Clea Shearer thought: This is going to be the best year of my life. The Home Edit, the company she had cofounded and worked so hard to grow, was acquired by Hello Sunshine. She had just finished filming the second season of her Emmy-nominated show Get Organized with The Home Edit. She turned forty surrounded by candles, flowers, friends, and family. And then, on March 8, 2022, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her life as she knew it was over.

But life is full of nuances. As the months went by, Clea started to feel like she had been given an opportunity. What if she could share everything she experienced and learned throughout this process, so it would be a little less frightening for someone else? If she could manage to do that, maybe she could turn her cancer purposeful.

Cancer Is Complicated is the book that Clea wishes she’d had when she started on her cancer journey. It is a memoir and a guidebook, blending Clea’s experiences and all the wisdom and advice she’s gathered through this process. The book follows Clea through every step of her journey, from the moment she first felt a lump in her breast, through treatment, to where she is today. Clea also offers insights on questions big and small—from how to be your own biggest advocate, to knowing whom in your circle to share your diagnosis with, to understanding the emotional side of cancer, to what to bring with you to chemo, to things to eat when nothing else tastes good, and so much more.

Clea has built an incredibly successful career on empowering and helping people navigate the overwhelm of their homes—offering accessible ways for us to begin to put our lives in order. Here, she applies her wisdom to one of the most overwhelming and frightening experiences any human being ever has to face: cancer and illness.

Warm, honest, and straightforward in its approach, Cancer Is Complicated is for anyone with cancer or anyone who loves someone with cancer. It is a reminder to care for ourselves and one another, and it is here to help readers feel less alone and more prepared for the journey ahead.

* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF containing the section Okay, A Few More Things from the book.

About The Author

Clea Shearer is the cofounder of The Home Edit, a global home and lifestyle company that began with the goal of reinventing traditional home organizing and merging it with design. The Home Edit has become a household name with a social following of over 9.8 million people; three New York Times bestselling books, The Home Edit, The Home Edit Life, and The Home Edit: Stay Organized; a successful line of organizational products sold in over thirty-one countries; and an Emmy-nominated Netflix show, Get Organized with The Home Edit. In 2025, Clea, and her cofounder Joanna Teplin, made their debut as hosts of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition airing on ABC and streaming on Hulu. Hello Sunshine, a division of Candle Media, acquired The Home Edit in the spring of 2022. Clea currently lives in Nashville with her husband John, two kids, and dog.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Katie on September 26, 2025

I waited so impatiently for this book to finally land on my doorstep! I preordered it SO fast! It’s no wonder I started reading it immediately yesterday & now finished the night after. I needed this book badly, as I am still in the thick of it walking my own cancer journey. I can resonate with many......more

Goodreads review by Nadine on September 27, 2025

A brutally honest account of all the twists and turns along the way. Clea and I were on the exact same timeline. She is still in the trenches in a way I am fortunate not to be, but we are still in the trenches together. She lives this journey on a very public stage, and definitely tells it like it i......more

Goodreads review by Rachael on November 07, 2025

I wasn’t sure if listening to this was a good idea since I’m going through a second breast cancer diagnosis in one year, but it was actually so nice to listen to someone who knows. I didn’t have to go through everything that Clea did, but so much of what she said resonates with me.......more

Goodreads review by Lindsay on October 22, 2025

This is the book every woman should read after they are diagnosed with breast cancer. While my journey wasn’t the same as Clea’s, so many things she talked about resonated with me. This is such a helpful resource.......more

Goodreads review by Sarah on August 01, 2025

Book Review: Cancer Is Complicated: And Other Unexpected Lessons I’ve Learned by Clea Shearer Rating: 4.8/5 Clea Shearer’s Cancer Is Complicated is a rare hybrid of memoir, guidebook, and emotional lifeline. This work transcends its genre to offer both solace and actionable wisdom for those navigating......more


Quotes

One of Zibby Owens' Fall 2025 Most Anticipated Books

"A timely and powerful book that is for 'every patient in treatment, every friend and family member of a patient in treatment, and for survivors who can relate to the journey.'"
—Modern Luxury Nashville


"I have known Clea for many years, and although she has had a lot of accomplishments, her greatest gift has been her raw honesty—and even humor—about her journey with breast cancer. She has touched so many people by her candor through the darkest of times, and this book will help so many more."
—Christina Applegate

"Clea has always been a helper, and she’s doing it again with this incredible book. She is sharing her cancer journey and helping you through yours. She will walk with you . . . holding your hand every step of the way."
—Hoda Kotb

"I was lucky enough to have Clea as my personal breast cancer mentor, and now she can be yours too. All her warmth and wisdom are in her book Cancer is Complicated. A deeply honest, moving, and often funny account of her journey through diagnosis, decisions, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and beyond. It is the ultimate breast cancer handbook."
—Jenna Fischer

"Beautifully written, inspiring, and empowering. Cancer Is Complicated gorgeously blends together memoir and guidebook, walking us through each step of Clea Shearer’s cancer journey. It’s comforting, relatable, and filled with essential advice. Anyone embarking on their cancer journey is going to feel less alone and less adrift with this book at their side."
—Maria Shriver

"Clea was one of the first friends I called when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I’m forever grateful that she was straightforward and honest with me about what was to come. And now, with this book, she’s giving readers a chance to have that same guidance and comfort from diagnosis to treatment and beyond."
—Olivia Munn

"[Shearer’s] matter-of-fact explanations of the bodily experience of chemo are valuable, and her breezy, good-humored tone keeps things from getting too heavy . . . Those grappling with recent cancer diagnoses will find comfort and welcome humor here."
Publishers Weekly