I'm Still Here

Martina Reaves weaves the story of her early life—coming of age in the 1960s, living and working in various small towns with her hippie husband, coming out in 1980, and eventually having a son with her life partner, Tanya—with that of her 2008 tongue cancer diagnosis, after which she fights to maintain hope even as she accepts that death might come.

---

In 1969, at age twenty, Martina moves to San Francisco. She lives in a
commune, marries her hippie streetcar driver, and moves away from the
city—first to Mendocino County, Oregon, and then to the Virgin Islands.
In 1980, Martina comes out. She finds her life partner, Tanya, at work,
and in 1986 they have a son, Cooper.









In 2008, Martina is diagnosed with serious tongue cancer. Her journey in
the aftermath of this diagnosis is one of hope, fear, family,
friendship, perseverance, and learning to live with a terminal
diagnosis.









Reaves braids these strands of her life together in I’m Still Here, presenting readers with a nuanced, poignant exploration of what it means to live—and love—authentically.