Donald “DJ” Singleton had it all—a new marriage, toddler son, teen daughter, and a high-paying job, with his eye on the C-suite. A former Division I athlete, he also had an enviable physique, honed day after day hitting weights in the gym. On his forty-first birthday, a stabbing pain attacked his shoulder for the first time while he was working out. Then his stomach warred against him. He was under total assault.

Several doctor visits later, DJ got the diagnosis: Stage 4 colon cancer. Decades of healthy eating and exercising and having no hereditary cancer history had not protected him. He learned that colorectal cancer (colon and rectal) was on the rise in young adults and that Black people, like himself, were among those groups in the US more likely to get the disease and die from it. Determined to stay hopeful, challenge the cancer head-on, and encourage others to get tested before it is too late, he wrote This Is What It Looks Like: Cancer Unfiltered. His unflinching memoir details the physical, emotional, and mental changes he underwent during months of chemotherapy for a disease that is now the leading cause of cancer death in American adults under fifty. It’s for caregivers, friends, loved ones—and for people dealing with cancer, to let them know they are not alone in their journey and to encourage them to keep going.