100 Days After Surgery: A Manageable Memoir of Recovery with James Navé

Welcome to Twice 5 Miles Radio. I’m your host, James Navé.This episode traces a prostate cancer diagnosis, surgery, and 100 days of writing through recovery.Fifteen years ago, I had surgery for prostate cancer. The next morning, I started writing—one piece a day for 100 days.I’m recording this at Lake Eden in Western North Carolina, and today I’m going solo.The first piece was just a report from the day. I didn’t call it a poem. I just needed something to do while I recovered. So I did it again the next day. And the next.It turned into 100 days of writing—one piece a day while I was healing.In this episode, I walk back through that time—the diagnosis, the surgery, the fear, the help I received, and the daily practice that kept me connected to my life while everything slowed down.I wasn’t writing about cancer every day. I was writing about whatever showed up—friends, places, memories, small details. But underneath it all, the experience was shaping the work.If you’ve ever been through something that stopped you in your tracks, this is simple: pay attention, keep going, and make something from where you are.Topics include:Prostate cancer diagnosis and surgical decision-makingWriting as a daily recovery practice100 poems in 100 days (process over perfection)Creativity as a stabilizing force during traumaFriendship, community, and asking for helpLife after surgery—physically and artistically A hospital bed. A recorder. One small goal. That’s how 100 days of writing began.00:00 Introduction — Going solo01:10 Cancer diagnosis (2011)04:30 Fear, secrecy, and first steps08:45 Meeting the urologist / treatment options13:20 Decision to have surgery18:10 Surgery day — March 3121:00 First poem after surgery24:30 Writing as recovery practice30:00 Help from friends / community36:40 Day 7 — cancer clear42:00 Expanding to 100 poems48:30 Taos, travel, and returning to life55:00 New York — nearing 100 days01:02:00 Finishing the 100 poems01:06:00 What the experience taught me01:10:00 Closing reflections