Yesterday was my birthday.  I turned 39.

So I am pushing up the hill & at the top, but not over it…

I have grappling hooks at the ready because I plan on camping out here awhile.

It was a great day, but it was a bit surreal for me.  I realized that this was my last birthday with the lungs I was born with.

I told my friends when this journey started I would be ok with being transplanted at pretty much any time but really hoped it wasn’t on my birthday or near it.

A few people in my center’s informal support group did get calls. I was happy to hear that.

One for sure did get a transplant.  I was happy for him & his family even though I know their nerves are probably still pretty raw right now.

My friends spoiled me.  Cooked me breakfast & dinner & gave me some great gifts.  One was particularly interesting & I want to share it because I find it fascinating & I plan on blogging about the book later.

Pieces of Me sounded like a fascinating read.  I know a lot of people knock Young Adult oriented books but I really like the premise behind this book.   I dove into it a little yesterday and was not disappointed.

I was discussing with another friend that there are a lot of great fiction books that have been written on transplant or by transplant recipients (as well as nonfiction) so I’ve been adding those books to my Wishlist as I find them. This ensures I have a running list of interesting reads when I feel like it.

I don’t know if this author has experience with someone she knows or loves undergoing transplant or knows a donor family or is just very sensitive & passionate about the power of donation, but I’m sure I’ll get more of a sense of that as I get farther in.

I’m sure at some point in my recovery  I might do a lot of reading to kill time (if I can get my drug cocktail to not affect my attention as much because that sometimes happens which is why I don’t read as much as I used to. But this is another reason I like ebooks. It makes it easier for me to pick them up, read a few pages, bookmark, & then put them down.)

I might even start doing some book reviews, like I did with this children’s story & like I do with my plethora of devices.

I definitely plan to review this book later, but not until my friends have had a chance to read it too so I can discuss it with them first & get their impressions.

But I definitely wanted to share a bit about it because I think it’s a unique angle to take with the writing.

Also the perfect gift from friends who have done nothing but support me for the past 16 years.

They really are family.