Sally Everett was about to turn fifty. A single parent and a successful attorney, she was, seemingly, a picture of health. She ate right, she didn"t smoke, she was almost never sick, and she exercised regularly. Then a simple cold turned into pneumonia. A few weeks later she was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and Alpha-1, its principal genetic cause. Her doctor gave her, at most, ten years. After a week of self-pity and a year of self-indulgence, however, Sally got on with the rest of her life. She vowed to keep herself as healthy and strong as she could. Before long, she also joined the search for a cure. She became a board member and sometime chair of the Alpha-1 Foundation. Then a fellow board member told Sally he loved her and turned her world upside down again. This is a story about the strength and resilience of the human spirit. It"s also an invaluable resource for anyone with Alpha-1 or COPD. Nineteen years later, Sally Everett is not only still alive, but also happily married to a man she never would have met but for her diagnoses. As her powerful memoir illustrates, stuff happens in life that we can"t predict - it"s what we do when it does that defines us.