Here's an interesting new book: THE POWER OF TWO: Surviving Serious Illness with an Attitude & an Advocate by Brian and Gerri Monaghan.



Brian Monaghan, a fifty-nine-year-old lawyer at the top of his game, got the news that all of us dread - Stage IV melanoma had metastasized to his brain; he was given three to six months to live. That night Brian and his wife Gerri made a pact: "We are going to love and laugh and fight this. And we are going to win." That was ten years ago.

THE POWER OF TWO is the story of the Monaghan's journey, told back and forth between them. They detail Brian's battle to fight his cancer - including eight and a half hours of brain surgery while awake, Gamma Knife radiosurgery and an experimental dendritic-cell vaccine - while struggling with contradictory medical advice from some of the finest doctors in the country.

Interspersed are Gerri's top 50 tips - providing a practical blueprint for how to be an advocate and make a potentially life-or-death difference in a patient's life:

#1 Trust your intuition.

#6 Create a battle plan.

#15 Get copies of records.

#26 Make doctors speak in a language that you understand.

#49 Remember, this is not a dress rehearsal.

Brian and Gerri's story really is remarkable and they tell it compellingly - both on the page and in person. In the 3 minute video pasted above, the Monaghans talk about their experience and the book.

I'm sure you will all be moved by the Monaghans' story and - more important - would learn from it. It offers practical advice on how to be an advocate. It's based on Brian and Gerri's personal experience, but has a universal message. The Power of Two really has the power to change lives.