Rocking the Pink

January 23, 2012
A UCLA-trained drama student turned corporate lawyer recounts her erratic, ultimately transcendent tale of being floored by breast cancer—only to reconnect to what really mattered to her. Roppé, a California native, was certain as a kid that Hollywood was in her future, even roping a brief but important speaking part as Girl One in Oliver Stone’s film The Doors—except that law school intervened, then a stressful career as a civil litigator, marriage and motherhood to two girls. By her mid-30s, Roppé had decided to join a rock band and start singing again, which segued into recording her own songs and making a full-length album with a vanity producer. Yet just as her single “Mama Needs a Girls’ Night Out” began to get some radio time, and she had signed a contract with a London-based record label, Roppé was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer called triple negative breast cancer, requiring an extensive round of chemotherapy and radiation. Looping back and forth in time, Roppé’s narrative can sometimes be flighty, but she makes up for it with enormous energy, humor, and unsinkable optimism.

January 15, 2012
A cancer diagnosis almost derails a woman's journey to rock stardom. After more than 10 years as a corporate lawyer, Roppe finally listened to her heart, quit her job and began making music in earnest. Her dreams were put on hold, however, when her doctor gave her a devastating diagnosis of breast cancer. With the support of her steadfast husband and two young daughters, Roppe resolved to do whatever it took to beat the cancer and take the stage once more. The author provides several interesting stories, including a particularly detailed account of her work as an extra on Oliver Stone's The Doors (1991), but many of her early anecdotes have little to do with either her burgeoning new career as a rock singer or her struggle as a cancer patient. For example, readers unclear on how to pronounce her last name will find several paragraphs discussing it. Even when directly discussing her cancer diagnosis, Roppe fails to adequately address how it temporarily derailed her musical aspirations. She is also quick to point out the positives in her situation, which can be inspiring, but she never explores the darker aspects of her battle. The later chapters begin with e-mails from her online buddy Jane, a fellow breast-cancer victim. Unfortunately for the author, Jane's e-mails about her life are more open and engaging than the majority of the author's narrative. Some readers may find hope from Roppe's successful battle with cancer, but her self-indulgent tone may leave unsatisfied.

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February 1, 2012

Leaving behind a law career that didn't suit her inner rock star, 37-year-old Roppe (pronounced Ropay) had just signed a record deal in 2008 when the news came that she had triple-negative breast cancer, a rare and aggressive form that made both chemotherapy and radiation imperative. Her childhood dreams of being a professional singer came crashing to a halt. Chapters alternate between Roppe's discussion of cancer and retelling of her past, beginning when she first meets her future husband, Brad, at 14. Her take on life is irreverent, perhaps a bit too cutesy, but Roppe gets through treatment, buoyed by her own song lyrics, which she eventually cuts in vinyl (or silver disc) as her singer-songwriter career takes off and her cancer is vanquished--for the time being. VERDICT More inspirational treatise than disease chronicle, Roppe's book will give women assurance for getting through the worst life throws at them, be it illness or other kinds of loss. And though it might sound trite, Roppe does thank cancer, ultimately, for teaching her that "nothing is insurmountable." Not as cancer-specific as Geralyn Lucas's Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy, Roppe's title is recommended for people looking for a bit of hope.--Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal

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