Perseverance: True Voices of Cancer Survivors: How Young People Turn Fear into Hope--And How They Can Teach Us to Do the Same

Can you imagine being in high school or college and suddenly learning you have cancer? You thought you had a lifetime ahead of you and the whole world at your feet, but suddenly you're told...maybe not. How would you cope?

That's the question each of the people in this book had to answer. Each individual tells his or her amazing story, in an honest, first-person perspective that provides a depth you would never see otherwise. Inside, you'll meet Zac York, who tells of climbing Mount Whitney--on crutches--after battling brain cancer. You'll meet Jessica Myers, who had to cope with her boyfriend's callous reaction as she struggled with thyroid cancer. And you'll meet Rob Dooley, who fought brain cancer and was left with major cognitive deficits--including short-term memory loss--but never let that get in his way of obtaining a college diploma and entering graduate school.

You'll also get to know and come to love seventeen others, who tell their captivating stories in their own words. It's all here--struggles, triumphs, friendships, love, breakups, relapses. Twenty unique and fascinating stories, with one common theme--childhood cancer. They'll make you smile, make you cry, and fill you with hope.

Eight years ago, CAROLYN RUBENSTEIN founded Carolyn’s Compassionate Children (CCC), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides emotional and financial resources to childhood cancer survivors. Over the past five years, CCC has awarded 80 college scholarships to childhood cancer survivors.

As an undergraduate at Duke, Carolyn majored in psychology and conducted research examining quality of life for adolescent survivors of childhood cancer. A Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude graduate, Carolyn will begin a doctorate program in clinical psychology at Harvard this fall. She will continue to expand her child advocacy work and make more resources available to childhood cancer survivors.