In a career that has spanned forty years, Park Ranger and Paramedic Frank DiGianni has experienced life in a way few others can claim, and he did it on his own terms. His stories are adventurous, exciting, gritty, compelling and poignant. They also happen to be true and are written as they unfolded. "I didn't just use my employment as a Ranger and Paramedic as a starting point or backdrop to these stories, they were the very thing that put me in those situations in the first place." This is not the usual type of a book that might be written by a Paramedic, or a Park Ranger. It is not the normal tales of heroism or rescue, and it is not about the routine and the ordinary. "I was more interested in recounting the unusual, the extraordinary and in some cases, the unbelievable experiences I have had. They all have numerous themes in common, as they revolve around my employment, my travels, or both. But more importantly there is a human interest in what I have experienced and what I have written." "Whereas most people I knew and grew up around had begun to marry, start a family, and purchase a home shortly after graduating from college, I had no such plans. I would delay all this for almost three decades in pursuit of a life built around travel, adventure and excitement. The skill and experience I had gained from my chosen vocations would be my key to exploration, my ticket to the world. But my quest was far more than a hedonistic one; I also wanted to make a difference. Sure, I was fortunate to have been able to live and work in places most people could only dream about. But nobody was going to take me by the hand and show me the way; I needed to do that for myself. In forging my own path through life, I believe I did make a difference." This is not a travel book; it's a sage observation on the merits of humility, friendships and traditions mixed into 12 accounts from his own experiences and real life adventures. He was born in the Bronx, New York, and later grew up in Spring Valley, New York learning about honesty, a respect for nature, courage, a sense of humor, and the understanding of what it means to be a humanitarian. Because he grew up spending his summers in the Catskill Mountains and resides there even now, Frank has a gift for recreating the atmosphere of the great outdoors. His training as a paramedic and rescue technician prepared him for a life of uncanny opportunities few could only dream of. Frank's life, as told while he works beside world renowned doctors, searches in the twisted metal of history changing events, and even while clinging to his own life on the edge of a cliff is all at once humorous and sobering. Frank's writing gives me the sense I am listening to a great story being told. He engages all my senses. I think that defines a great writer more than anything. He transports the reader into the story to share the experience with him. That's true writing. He has a smooth way of knowing how to write compelling, moving and entertaining prose. And so it is with the authentic characters who talk and generally live in Frank Di Gianni's evocative book. From fancy motorcycle helmet wearing hotel guards yelling in Swahili, to Indian reservation sudo-cops swindling him out of four bucks for a ramped up speeding ticket, to cross-eyed Macedonian border guards and even heartwarming characters like a found dog and a lost snake. What Frank sketches so clearly in Life Experienced! is closely related to what Frank holds dear: a passion for humankind, a deep appreciation for our beautiful earth and all it's creatures, and a willingness and determination to bring the life-saving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. Reading about his triumphs and achievements, all while living his daily life is hard to put down. It is daring, absorbing and all true.
About the Author: Native New Yorker Frank DiGianni was born in 1955 in the Bronx, and was raised in the northern suburbs of Rockland County, New York. He is a graduate of Alfred State College of New York, Saint Vincent's Institute of Emergency Medicine, New York, N.Y. where he earned his Paramedic Certification, a graduate of The National Ranger Training Academy, Nelsonville, Ohio where he received his Federal Law Enforcement training, and a graduate of Rescue Systems, Inc., Latham, New York, where he received training in basic and advanced High Angle Rescue. In a career that began in 1977, he has been employed as a New York State Park Ranger, United States National Park Service Ranger, Marine Patrol Officer, Paramedic, Flight Medic, Paramedic Instructor, High Angle Rescue Instructor, Constable, and also volunteers as a New York State Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator. He is certified as a New York State Paramedic and Paramedic Skills Instructor, Pennsylvania Licensed Paramedic, Nationally Registered Paramedic, Advanced Cardiac Life Support Instructor, Pediatric Advanced Life Support Instructor, Neonatal Resuscitation Provider, New York State Peace Officer, New York State Marine Patrol Officer, United States Federal Officer - Commission #10973. Additional certifications in Wilderness EMT Training, Coast Guard Auxiliary Boating and Seamanship, Advanced S.C.U.B.A. Diver and S.C.U.B.A. Rescue Technician, Swift Water Rescue, Wilderness Survival, Wildland Firefighter, Helicopter Crew Member Training, and has lectured extensively on Snake and Spider Envenomation.