Kindle Edition
Amazon
Author Paul Lonardo
Amazon Author Page
Category:
Memoir
Publisher: John Cagno
ISBN-10: 1503127737
Type: Non-Fiction
Pages: 300
Copyright: November, 2014
ISBN-13: 9781503127739
Price: $9.99 (eBook)
This book is an autobiographical account of the lessons I learned about life and how I was able to apply them to inspire, motivate and empower others in my own work as a firefighter, as well in my daily life as a husband, a father and a man. When I was five years-old, my father abandoned my mother and three sisters, beginning a whole new life when he started another family. I never saw him again. This presented me with many challenges growing up, but even this heartache was overshadowed by debilitating injuries I sustained as an 18 year-old call firefighter. On January 13, 1980, while performing a training exercise at a vacant mill, my left hand passed through an induction field of a live 35,000 volt transmission line. Approximately 14,000 volts of electricity surged through my body as I ascended a fire department aerial ladder. While I was fortunate that the current did not instantly kill me, or fall to my death, the injuries to both my hands and right leg were catastrophic, altering the path of my life and shaping me in many ways. At times the pain and severity of my injuries were too much to bear and made me pray to God to take me. With the love and support of many people, however, I found an inner strength that exists in all of us, and I made it out of the hospital after a harrowing five month journey. - John Cagno
Excerpt
When I was five years-old, my father abandoned me and my three sisters and I never saw him again. This presented me with many challenges growing up, which I dealt with largely by immersing myself in an imaginary play world I created from empty boxes and a patch of dirt in my backyard, which I filled with Tonka Trucks, Matchbox cars and my G.I. Joes.
The heartache of my father's abandonment was overshadowed by debilitating injuries I sustained as an 18 year-old call firefighter. On January 13, 1980, while performing a training exercise at a vacant mill, my left hand passed through an induction field of a live transmission line, sending 14,000 volts of electricity surging through my body. While fortunate that I was not killed, the injuries to my hands were catastrophic, altering the path of my life and shaping me in many ways.
With the love and support of many people, I was able to harness an inner strength that exists in all of us and I made it out of the hospital after a harrowing five months. Through years of grueling rehabilitation and dozens of operations, I remained determined to fulfill my life-long ambition of becoming a firefighter.
I have always said that my life is an open book, and in BOY IN A BOX, I am brutally honest about these, and many other personal adversities, including a battle with prescription pain killers and incidents of brutal bullying experienced by my own son.
I believe that storytelling can be the best medicine in helping us get through life's many challenges, and with this book I hope to inspire, motivate, and empower people so that they might be able to realize their full potential.
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