Authors: Tim Green

Unstoppable (25 page)

BOOK: Unstoppable

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When my wife, Illyssa, was diagnosed with cancer, our whole family's perspective on life was changed. Through it all, I was struck by her toughness and determination to survive. Many people look at sports figures as heroes. Anyone who has seen someone battle cancer knows there is no comparison. Thinking about my next sports novel, I knew I wanted to write about a kid who was a talented athlete, suddenly faced with this struggle. Through Mike and Julia Wamp, friends we'd made among other cancer survivors, I was introduced to Jeffrey Keith, famous for his own survival and devotion to helping others. We talked extensively about his experiences, and he became the model for my main character. As a twelve-year-old boy with great sports talent, Jeffrey lost his leg to cancer, but he went on to play Division 1 lacrosse at Boston College. He later ran from Boston to Los Angeles and founded CT Challenge to raise awareness for survivors. In fact, at his request, I have named the main character Harrison and his best friend Justin after Jeff's two sons.

About CT Challenge

The CT Challenge is a 501(3)(c) nonprofit organization founded in 2005 and dedicated to helping cancer survivors to live healthier, happier, and longer lives. In 2012, the CT Challenge opened the Center for Survivorship, the first of its kind in the nation, offering programs in exercise, nutrition, and psychosocial support for cancer survivors.

To learn more about the CT Challenge
and the Center for Survivorship, visit www.ctchallenge.org.

About the Author

TIM GREEN
became a star defensive end with the Atlanta Falcons after he graduated covaledictorian from Syracuse University as a first-round draft pick. Today he's a lawyer and a
New York Times
bestselling author of sports novels informed by his own career and his experiences coaching his sons' football and baseball teams. He and his wife, Illyssa, and their five children live in upstate New York. You can visit him online at www.timgreenbooks.com.

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Credits

Cover design by Megan Stitt

Thirty percent of the royalties from the sale of this book will go to support the Center for Survivorship, a nonprofit organization founded by Jeffrey Keith and dedicated to empowering cancer survivors to live healthier, happier, and longer lives. You can visit them online at www.ctchallenge.org.

Unstoppable

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks.

www.harpercollinschildrens.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN 978-0-06-208956-4
Epub Edition Â© JULY 2012 ISBN: 9780062089588

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