Simon and Schuster: A Conversation with Susan Whitman Helfgot Part 2

Q. Your mother-in-law, Rachel, endured tremendous hardships, and you describe her as one of the toughest women you’ve ever known. How did her tenacity influence Joseph while he was in and out of hospitals?

A. Joseph’s parents were survivors of Auschwitz, living under the most extreme conditions a human being can endure. Every day they made a conscious choice to stay alive and, somehow, they were able to. Joseph’s mother taught her son -- and taught me, as well -- everything there is to know about hope in the face of terrible odds. Joseph was very brave, and one definition of bravery is finding hope in action.

Q. What would you say to a healthy young person who’s getting a driver’s license and deciding whether or not to be an organ donor?

A. There’s a popular bumper sticker: “Don’t take your organs to heaven. Heaven knows we need them here.” Very few of us ever have an opportunity to save a life, but knowing that your death could save the life of another person is a powerful idea. And knowing that the death of a loved one has brought life to somebody else has provided great solace to many grieving families.

Q&A with Simon & Schuster

Danielle Lynn, Senior Publicist

Susan Whitman-Helfgot
http://thematchstory.com/
http://www.facebook.com/thematchstory
http://twitter.com/thematchstory
http://www.youtube.com/swhelfgot

Simon & Schuster: A Conversation with Susan Whitman Helfgot Part 1

Q. What was your motivation in writing this book?

A. When The Boston Globe reported that my husband had been the donor for Jim Maki’s face transplant, I was approached about the rights to my story. I remember thinking that this isn’t my story. It belongs to my late husband, to Jim Maki, and to Bo Pomahac, the transplant surgeon. My attorney suggested that I keep a diary. Then I got to know Jim and Bo, and several other people who were intimately connected to the transplant, and my diary morphed into a book with the help of William Novak.

Q. How did Joseph’s medical treatments convince him—and you—of the importance of organ donation?

A. My husband, Joseph, waited for years for a new heart, but only about a third of those in that situation ever receive one. The rest die waiting. Right now, more than 100,000 people in this country alone are waiting for some type of solid organ transplant, but only about a quarter of them will get new organs this year. Potential recipients are on death row, hoping for the phone to ring. Without more donors, they will continue to die, waiting for the call.

Q&A with Simon & Schuster

Danielle Lynn, Senior Publicist

Susan Whitman-Helfgot
http://thematchstory.com/
http://www.facebook.com/thematchstory
http://twitter.com/thematchstory
http://www.youtube.com/swhelfgot