Essays
Chris writes from a desk overlooking the gardens in her suburban New Jersey home. Here’s a selection of her published work.
Potato Soup Journal Anthology (1)
An anthology of sci-fi, literary, memoir, horror, satire, romance includes, In Words and Plants: How I Landscape My Life, an essay about how gardening and writing have woven through my life, like a clematis on a trellis.
From Prime Press
The Writers Circle 2
An anthology of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction writing includes, Memorare, an
essay about the slow loss of my mother-in-law’s mind to Alzheimer’s dementia.
More Than I Could Handle Alone
The call came on a perfectly ordinary evening in March. Dinner was on the stove. My younger son was doing his homework at the kitchen counter. I was about…
Two-time Cancer Survivor Doing It Her Way
Staring down breast cancer as an adult was not the same as her teen bout with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma because now Christine Shields Corrigan has the advantage of tackling the…
On Trust’s Shore
When my family arrived at the beach this year, my two teenage boys ran to the surf. They didn’t hesitate as they dove through the curling waves. I wasn’t so bold. I meandered to the shoreline and let the waves lap my feet. I waded in…
A Reconstructed Life
Breast cancer causes profound loss and grief. We grieve the loss of our bodies. We grieve the loss of our feminine identity. We grieve the loss of friendships. We grieve the loss of the opportunity for motherhood, as many patients enter menopause…
10 Things Not to Say to Someone with Breast (Or Any Other) Cancer
It’s almost October. The leaves are showing their vibrant fall colors. Pumpkin spice everything can be found everywhere, and Breast Cancer Awareness Month will soon be underway.
More Than I Could Handle Alone
The call came on a perfectly…
So You Have Breast Cancer, Now What?
Let’s start at the beginning. If you’re like most patients, you’ve had a mammogram or other diagnostic test that revealed something…
The Path To Success Doesn’t Always Mean A Four Year Degree
The end of the high school year is “senior packet” time. It’s the beginning of the insanely stressful college application process…
Two-Time Cancer Survivor Offers You Have Breast Cancer, Now What?
Wife and mom, Christine Shields Corrigan, knows a thing or two about resilience as she winds her way through a breast cancer diagnosis at age forty-nine.
Relics to Reliquary
Long before I stood with my boys, both of whom carry part of my father in their names, on Ireland’s rockstrewn coasts, my two-year-old self sat on the gray deck of the red and white whaleboat, and my dad stood with the wooden tiller in hand, as an old photo attests.
How I Got My Sexual Groove Back After Surviving Breast Cancer
I’ve learned that honest conversations about how breast cancer treatment affects your sexual health should be a part of every treatment plan.
An Unlikely Dissident
“Just everyone, go read this book!” I tweeted @manal_alsharif this summer after I finished reading Daring to Drive. In response, Ms. al-Sharif suggested that I register for the Oslo Freedom Forum in New York so that I could hear her…
Changing Colors
Spinning with my morning online spin class, I reflected on the mellowing colors of the trees beyond my bike outside my window — greens fading to orange, yellow, red, burgundy, and tan. October is my favorite month of the year…
Marking Milestones
Christine Corrigan was diagnosed with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-positive stage I breast cancer in 2016, at age 49. She wrote this piece in March 2017, exactly 1 year after her diagnosis. Christine has graciously agreed for it to be used…
How Do We Tell The Kids I Have Cancer?
Telling children that a parent has cancer is one of the most difficult things a newly diagnosed parent must face. There’s no one or “right” way to have this conversation. Every family copes with life’s challenges uniquely.
In Words and Plants: How I Landscape My Life by Christine Corrigan
“You know, mom, you can’t be a writer and have a good garden. You have to make a choice,” my eleven-year-old son said. At the time, we were walking together…
The Ghost in Our Kitchen
It’s Easter Sunday afternoon; cool with the sun peeking in and out of the clouds all day. Our home is quiet; the silence broken with the periodic, jellybean-fueled shouts from Tom and James, my 17- and 12-year-old sons, who are playing…
I Finally Found a Pretty Bra for My Rebuilt Boobs
“You know, you don’t need to wear a bra at all,” my plastic surgeon said as I hooked up my bra at the end of my last appointment. I raised my eyebrows at him and thought, “Okay, while you may…
10 Things I Wish I’d Known When I Was Diagnosed With Breast Cancer
No one wants to hear “I’m sorry it’s breast cancer” or face the storm of tests and treatment that follows. When I heard those words two years ago after a routine…
How I Told My Kids I Was Diagnosed with Cancer
Telling children that a parent has cancer is one of the most difficult things a newly diagnosed parent must face. For starters, there’s no one or “right” way to have this conversation. Every family copes with life’s challenges uniquely..
You have breast cancer, but you’re not alone or defeated
Let’s start at the beginning.
If you’re like most breast cancer patients, you’ve had a mammogram or other diagnostic test that revealed something was amiss.
A Good Place
Stories have long sustained Christine Shields Corrigan, nearly as vital as water and oxygen. She’s always been a voracious reader, and she has long kept a travel journal to document the things she’s seen and experienced along the way. Her love of words also…
So You Have Breast Cancer, Now What?
Let’s start at the beginning. If you’re like most patients, you’ve had a mammogram or other diagnostic test that has revealed something amiss. Those tests were likely followed by a breast biopsy and the news you never wanted to hear…
Coping with Cancer at the Holidays
Thanksgiving and the holiday season are fast approaching, with all of their attendant festivities, gatherings, and traditions. But for individuals dealing with cancer, the holidays may not hold the same…
So You Have Cancer, Now What?
Let’s start at the beginning. If you’re like most patients, you’ve had a mammogram or other diagnostic test that revealed something was amiss. Those tests were likely…
The Sheltering Tree
A breast cancer diagnosis can cause, in no particular order: terror, panic, anxiety, and worry. At least it did for me. As the calendar filled with appointments I never wanted…
It’s About Identity, Not Vanity
In February 2019, the Food and Drug Administration issued a letter to physicians stating that individuals with breast implants have a risk of developing…
Much Ado About Nipples
Following a breast cancer diagnosis or learning of a BRCA gene mutation, women are faced with a number of surgical treatment options depending on the type…
A Father's Day
The acrid scent of medications, loose bowels, and disinfectant engulfed us as Jeanne, my mother-in-law, opened the front door of the stately grey colonial in Connecticut where she and Bob…