My Heroes Ask Wallflowers to Dance

Book excerpt: "I have now read this book more than once. I want to be clear about my response. It is one of the most powerful, inspiring, personal journeys I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I have never read anything like it before. I give it my highest possible recommendation. Although I am personally familiar with Jennifer's story, I was unprepared for how deeply it inspired me to want to be a better person." - S. Eric OttesenMy childhood memories are sweet and wonderful - except for my memories of cystic fibrosis (CF), the number one genetic killer of children and young adults in the United States. As I grew up with my brothers and sister, I can now see that we were just kids being kids-loving life in the present, oblivious of the future and not knowing how much we would treasure our past.Justin, my witty, zealous, older brother, had many reasons to not feel like smiling. He had even more reasons not to feel like dancing. After all, his physicians had told him he wasn't supposed to live past the age of nineteen due to CF. Still, Justin was always the first one grinning on the dance floor as he asked "wallflowers" to dance. Justin had an uncanny ability to look past his wants, pain and discomfort and to instead focus on becoming a wallflower's knight in shining armor.While still mourning Justin's passing, my own lung capacity became critical and shrunk to the size of a silver dollar. In order to save my life, more than 30 friends stepped forward, offering to donate lobes of their lungs. From tragedy to triumph, "My Heroes Ask Wallflowers to Dance" chronicles my family's struggles to live with a terminal illness while at the same time celebrating the courageous human spirit, Christ-like love and selfless sacrifice.