HERMISTON — Writing has always been a cathartic experience for Steph Catudal. So it was only natural for her to put down in words what she was feeling when her husband, Tommy Rivers Puzey, fell ill shortly after the onset of the global pandemic.

In her memoir, “Everything All At Once,” Catudal shares the raw and riveting story about her husband’s cancer journey, while also finally processing her father’s death from lung cancer when she was 14.

A 2003 Hermiston High School graduate, Puzey, aka Rivs, participated in cross-country and track. Since high school, he has made a name for himself nationally and internationally as a marathoner, endurance athlete and coach. In 2017, he finished 16th in the Boston Marathon with a time of 2:18:20.

Puzey also has a doctorate degree in physical therapy. The couple, who met at Brigham Young University-Hawaii, have three children.

With a desire to share about losing her father and the “wake of grief” that followed, Catudal began writing her memoir nearly 10 years ago. However, when she initially “finished” it in 2019, she said it felt unfinished.

When Rivs got sick, Catudal started to write about the experience and was inspired to tell her whole story — including the pain and “messiness.” She shares candidly about her teenage rebellion that included running away from home and continued with alcohol abuse and the use of illegal drugs to mask her pain.

“My book is about accepting the duality of grief and recognizing that love is woven into every aspect of our lives despite the hardships that we’ve been through,” Catudal said in a promotional video for the book.

Initially hesitant to go to the hospital, Rivs ended up staying for nearly five months, including 101 days in the intensive care unit — 84 of those in a medically induced coma. While her husband teetered between life and death, Catudal wrote, often posting on Instagram to update friends and supporters. She said there wasn’t anything noble about how she approached her husband’s illness.

“I just did it,” she wrote. “Often, what looks like resilience to others is simply accepting the things we can’t change.”

Although Rivs’ lungs are permanently scarred, Catudal wrote in the book’s epilogue that a PET-scan performed in mid-January 2021 “found no evidence of disease.” In April 2022, he completed the Boston Marathon by running-walking in a time of 6:31:54.

“Everything All At Once” (HarperOne, May 30, 2023) is a New York Times Bestseller. For more information, visit www.stephcatudal.com.