The Journey of a Lifetime
Over sixteen years ago, Michael Hayes Samuelson received a phone call that forever changed his life. "Hello, Michael. This is Dr. Marcus. No good news. You have cancer." Those three words-you have cancer-echoed in his brain.
Okay, now what? For Michael, an internationally known and respected health educator and motivational speaker, his health message took on more urgency. The diagnosis was a penetrating wake-up call yanking him into menacing and mysterious territory.
He was a man with breast cancer, a stranger in a strange land.
In the beginning, this uninvited-and mind-numbing-voyage was distorted by a cracked prism of muted and blurred colors, only to burst forth with the passage of time to reveal both a heightened internal focus and an intense desire-an urgent need, commanding him to leave the comfort of the couch, put on his boots, pick up his trekking poles, and explore the outer reaches of the planet, on foot.
This book captures just a few of his many reflections and personal poems, sharpened by cancer, spawned from taxicabs, military service, mountains, rain forests, glaciers, boardrooms-and life.