From the Sidelines to the Finish Line: A Chronic Illness Survivor’s Challenges and Everyday Triumphs

In this inspiring memoir, Emily Falcon chronicles her lifelong journey with a congenital cardiac condition. In 1982, at seven weeks old, she had a heart attack that destroyed forty percent of the left side of her heart. This was her entry into a world of multiple cardiac procedures, surgeries, and hospitalizations, and a later diagnosis of glaucoma. Balancing these serious conditions defined her life.

Falcon's memoir is a story of survival and how her physical situation shaped and limited her. She intends this story to be a helpful resource to families, caregivers, and physicians who want to gain insight into a patient's point of view.

In 2017, after a lifetime of feeling that nothing could ever change, Falcon had a second open-heart surgery, which allowed her to participate in a 5K race a mere eight months later. She was no longer stuck on the sidelines. Drawing from her extensive life experiences, Falcon recounts how she found a way to surmount obstacles that people who live with incurable medical conditions and their supporters might face. In the book, Falcon describes how she has remained courageous and pragmatic in her mission to stay alive. She encourages her readers to advocate for themselves, believe in their abilities, never be afraid to test their boundaries, and feel motivated to make changes in their lives.