Because of A Book with Susan May

 I just love to hear author's stories about the books they loved as a child!  Today, our guest is Susan May, author of Nick's New Heart.  Although not a holiday story, it is a true story of love, strength, and courage.  I hope that you will consider this as one of your next reads.  With that said, here's Susan!

Susan May is the author of Nick’s New Heart a book about her son who received a heart transplant at one year old. He is now twenty and doing well. She is currently working on a romance novel about an American female who is hired to repair an Englishman’s castle. Susan is also working on a nonfiction book about her great uncle who was a flight surgeon during World War II. After traveling for a summer in Europe with her four teenager children, she is putting together a book about that adventure as well.

Susan has been married to her husband for twenty-seven years and they live in north Georgia. They met at Auburn University, and remain devoted Tiger fans. For the past seventeen years, Susan has been a substitute high school teacher, and that… is another story in itself.

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As a child I fell in love with books when my fourth grade teacher read the Little House on the Prairie series to our class. When I had children I even bought a set to share with them when they got old enough to enjoy the stories.

I didn’t really become a reader until I was in the sixth grade and I made a poor grade in math, and my punishment was no TV for six weeks. I started reading and haven’t turned back. I read Trixie Belden, Donna Parker, and Nancy Drew and found Harlequin romances by the time I was in high school. I borrowed copies from a neighbor by the bags full. I spent hours curled up on the porch of our lake house traveling in my mind to other parts of the world.

On the advice from a friend, I read All Things Great and Small and fell in love with James Herriot’s adventures as a veterinarian in rural England. I also had to have a set of Herriot’s books. While in college, I went through all on Auburn University library’s copies of Ian Fleming’s James Bond series.

Since my youth I’ve read thousand of book both fiction and nonfiction. Always have a book that I’m reading. All the books that have passed through my life have given me a love for the written word, and because of that I became an author. No matter what we read it affects our life.

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About Little House on the Prairie series:
Meet Laura Ingalls . . .

. . . the little girl who would grow up to write the Little House books. Pa Ingalls decides to sell the little log bhouse, and the family sets out for Indian country! They travel from Wisconsin to Kansas and there, finally, Pa builds their little house on the prairie. Sometimes farm life is difficult, even dangerous, but Laura and the family are kept busy and are happy with the promise of their new life on the prairie.
Laura and her family journey west by covered wagon, only to find they are in Indian territory and must move on.

Buy it at Amazon
Buy it at Powells

About Nick's New Heart:
NICK MAY WAS ONE OF THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL HEART TRANSPLANTS IN THE UNITED STATES, PERFORMED ON A ONE-YEAR-OLD BABY, AS TOLD BY HIS MOTHER. Most people associate heart problems with old age. However, many children also suffer serious heart, kidney, eye or other medical problems that once were insurmountable. In the past, infants with the heart defects that Nick once had invariably died. However, with surgical and medical advances, this sad situation has changed, providing not only life for these children, but a good quality of life. The story of Nick is similar to a roller coaster ride without seat belts or safety bars. Here is a true story that is often more dramatic than fiction, as excellent doctors worked together with a caring, intelligent family not just to save a life, but to provide a good life. Great experiences, deeper understanding, hope, love, faith, and steadfast support from friends, relatives, nurses, staff, and doctors have been the result...along with a wonderful book. Author SUSAN MAY skillfully weaves a story of strength, ability, determination, faith, teamwork and inspiration in her book, as she recounts the story of her baby Nick and the overwhelming odds he faced. Although his birth at first seemed normal, Nick's worried mother asked, "Is my baby fine?" Her question either went unanswered or was met with a simple, "I do not know. More tests are needed." She did not realize then that the adventure had only begun, as tests revealed that this baby had a catastrophic problem potentially more deadly than cancer. The author describes the brilliant care and dedication of the highly-skilled doctors and staff who were able to turn the life of a dying baby from a tragedy into a triumph. Often touching, sometimes sad and scary, sometimes funny, this story demonstrates the extraordinary results of doctor/family teamwork, positive attitudes, and the needed support of others when a serious medical condition strikes any child.


Buy it at Amazon