About the Book
The Journey of a Lifetime Over sixteen years ago, Michael Hayes Samuelson received a phone call that forever changed his life. "Hello, Michael. This is Dr. Marcus. No good news. You have cancer." Those three words-you have cancer-echoed in his brain. Okay, now what? For Michael, an internationally known and respected health educator and motivational speaker, his health message took on more urgency. The diagnosis was a penetrating wake-up call yanking him into menacing and mysterious territory. He was a man with breast cancer, a stranger in a strange land. In the beginning, this uninvited-and mind-numbing-voyage was distorted by a cracked prism of muted and blurred colors, only to burst forth with the passage of time to reveal both a heightened internal focus and an intense desire-an urgent need, commanding him to leave the comfort of the couch, put on his boots, pick up his trekking poles, and explore the outer reaches of the planet, on foot. This book captures just a few of his many reflections and personal poems, sharpened by cancer, spawned from taxicabs, military service, mountains, rain forests, glaciers, boardrooms-and life.
About the Author: Over the past forty years-from Boston to Brussels, London to Little Rock, Peoria to Paris, and Harrisburg to Havana-Michael Samuelson has lectured on leadership, health promotion, patient experience, health policy, disease prevention, and the dynamics of behavior change. An author of five books and numerous articles on leadership and behavior change, his work has been featured on the ABC News program 20/20, The CBS Morning Show, CNN, and MSNBC as well as numerous national print publications including the New York Times, Boston Globe, The Lancet, Employee Benefit News, American Journal of Health Promotion, Business Week, and USA Today. Michael completed his graduate studies at the University of Michigan, is a Vietnam-era veteran of the US Air Force (1967-1971), and a recipient of the Commander's Coin of Excellence from the US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine. His distinguished professional résumé includes successful entrepreneur, senior executive in the health insurance industry, CEO, university professor, and US health policy advisor. His writings, audio work, and behavior change programs have been distributed to millions throughout the world and have been publicly endorsed by scientists, politicians, advocacy organizations, business leaders, and media personalities including George H.W. Bush, Betty Ford, C. Everett Koop, Ken Blanchard, Livestrong, and Larry King. Practicing what he preaches, Michael is an avid world trekker with high-altitude mountain adventures logged in Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, Alaska, and throughout the US lower forty-eight-all after the age of fifty and after diagnosis of and treatment for breast cancer.
