Death be not proud: children, families, and cancer in postwar America

On 30 June 1947, after a fifteen-month illness, seventeen-year-old Johnny Gunther died from a rare brain tumor. In Death Be Not Proud, Johnny's father, noted journalist John Gunther, meticulously recorded the exhaustive hunt for therapeutic options he and his ex-wife pursued during their son's illness. In "A Word from Frances," a short section written by Johnny's mother, she reflected upon her relationship with her son and his untimely death. The inclusion of Johnny's letters and diary entries helped to preserve Johnny's voice after his death and, consequently, to personify one young cancer sufferer and his family. In the 1940s, when cancer was identified as a leading cause of childhood mortality, Johnny and the best-selling memoir helped raise cancer awareness, especially about young sufferers. However, thousands of letters sent from across the country attested to the broader impact of the Gunthers' poignant story. Letters from parents demonstrated that cancer, childhood illness, and death threatened two ideals of postwar America: unlimited biomedical progress, and the child-centered family.