Book Description

I Wasn’t Dead When I Wrote This is a recipient of the QED Seal, which stands for Quality, Excellence, Design for ebooks and applications. Perhaps the greatest gift we receive when we grow older is the gift of wisdom. When conversing with our children of those younger than us we might find ourselves giving advice and thinking, "If only I knew that when I was your age!" This is certainly the case for youth minister Lisa-Marie Calderone-Stewart--but it is especially noteworthy because this book was written in her final months before dying of cancer. After thirty years of working with teens, Calderone sums up a lifetime's worth of the best practical advice she has given and received for young people to be happy and spirituality strong in I Wasn't Dead When I Wrote This. Calderone acknowledges that ones teenage years are formative in shaping his or her attitudes and soul-habits, but too often teens look to contemporary culture and acquaintances to develop the ways they deal with life's curveballs. She reflects upon painful periods of time in her youth--such as the time she was the only student in class who had receved just one Valentine and the moment she overhead her parents discussing how much she had changed as a teenager and how they felt they had "lost her." It was through difficult but relatable experiences such as these that she learned the lessons on how to best avoid falling apart when life becomes challenging. It is never too late to change your life or shape someone else's--as Calderone does just that with this honest, heartfelt perspective on living written a few months dying.