Lessons from a CF Cornerman

38 Lessons I Learned During my Wife's Illness and Lung Transplant

Non-Fiction - Grief/Hardship
382 Pages
Reviewed on 06/03/2017
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Author Biography

Raymond Poole earned a BS degree in Mechanical and Materials Engineering from the University of Connecticut as well as an MBA from Indiana University. Throughout his career, he has worked in Operations, Engineering Management, and Marketing. Ray has earned a patent, a lean six-sigma certification, and has won two national championships in fighting.

Inspired by his wife Rebecca and her struggles with Cystic Fibrosis, Ray became involved with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and was named “Milwaukee’s Finest” in 2013 in honor of his volunteerism and fundraising efforts. He became a member of the Wisconsin CFF Leadership Board and later won the 2014 Eaton Stover Volunteerism award.

He holds a third degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and has trained and competed in several martial arts including Muay Thai and Jujitsu. In his spare time, Ray enjoys working on his cars, lifting weights, and entertaining friends and family. Ray is the self-proclaimed master of "holding her pocketbook like a man." He does not enjoy or excel at running, but he does it anyway...like a boss.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite

Lessons from a CF Cornerman: 38 Lessons I Learned During my Wife's Illness and Lung Transplant by Raymond L. Poole is a story that will certainly communicate hope to readers and help them look at the future positively, expectantly. In this nonfiction book, the author shares his experience of his wife’s illness and the lessons he learned through the process. It’s a story of pain and triumph, of family and love, a journey through illness that is both inspiring and motivating.

Rebecca Poole has lived with cystic fibrosis for 37 years. On New Year’s Eve of 2014, she had respiratory failure and was put on life support. She only had a few days to live. But she stayed on a ventilator for 171 days and was in the hospital for 218 days, an incredibly long period to cause stress in anyone. In this book, the husband tells the story and shows readers how the experience affected him and the lessons he learned. What was it like to stay positive when life was fading in his wife? What did it take to inject life into their relationship? How did he handle the very low days? How did he deal with the many obstacles that came along the way? This book answers these questions and offers readers insights that will help them deal with any major illness in their families.

Raymond L. Poole’s book will make readers cry and laugh at the same time. It is hard not to listen to his confident, upbeat, and humorous voice. I loved the excellent prose and the author’s storytelling skills. There were moments I found myself laughing in spite of the grim situations the author found himself in. For instance, when his wife tells him at the beginning of their relationship that she had cystic fibrosis, he never went into details to find out what it really meant. The story is complemented by beautiful images that are telling. Lessons from a CF Cornerman: 38 Lessons I Learned During my Wife's Illness and Lung Transplant is a beautiful gift that will be loved by those with family members who are sick, a story with a lot of beautiful lessons and entertaining moments.