I Was Picked: The John Challis Story

Courage + Believe = Life. What a wonderful mantra and legacy to leave the world. John Challis was an inspirational young man who touched this world for a short time and in that time changed so many people's lives with his character and determination to make the most of life and also to give back to others. He was determined to not give in to his illness of liver cancer. He packed as much in as he could and carried those that were fortunate enough to know him along with him. Howard Shapiro has captured John's spirit in this book and has delicately shown you the effect his illness had on his family and friends without being too intrusive. A wonderful inspirational book.

Superb. It is so sad to see a child be diagnosed with such a debilitating disease. This could be my youngest son, who is 19 at the time I am writing this. It is with such grace and dignity that this young man dealt with his cancer. I do not know why the term "fight" is attached to cancer. It is like any other disease and we seek treatment and learn to cope with the new limits we have to face as our bodies slowly change and submit to the disease that there truly isn't a chance of beating. Coming to terms with the fact that death looms on the horizon has to be one of the most horrific things we can face and this young man, as well as many other young children, are a true inspiration and extremely humbling. When my time comes I hope I am half as brave as this young man was, and I wish I could just hug his family and let them know them know his story touched me and that I will help keep his memory alive. An extremely emotional story, get your Kleenex ready.

I was picked: The John Challis story is a heart breaking account of a young mans struggle with cancer and how despite the odds he lived his life to its full extent and the love and care of his family and friends. John lived by the motto Courage + Belief = Life and this book tries to do justice to everything he (and his family) went through and the ways he went about assisting others while he fought for his life. A heart breaking story showing the young mans courage and faith. Well written.

what an inspiration. I feel as though that is such a cliche saying, but it fits, especially after reading this book. Thank you for sharing this story of a young man who refused to allow a terminal diagnosis to stop him.

Some background. I work as a bio-engineer in a histopathology laboratory in a teaching hospital. It's a large hospital, with many thousands of biopsies and tests going through our department every year. I'm a very small cog in a big productive machine, but every single day I'm at work, my colleagues and I see biopsies and every one of them has a story. We don't have direct patient contact, of course, but we understand and never forget that there's a patient (and family) behind every test we run and everything we analyze.

The book begins with an introduction and short early biography of John and his family. From a tough early infancy (they thought he had cystic fibrosis) and surgery, John turned into a normal and active kid. He participated in sports, he went to school, he lived his life up until age 16. Nobody expected his cancer diagnosis, terminal liver cancer with lung metastasis.

Most of the book is written about the time after his diagnosis. It's about how he and his family reacted, how his teammates and people in the community reacted and the people he touched in his 2 year cancer battle. The picture album in the middle of the book is especially poignant.

This story puts a very human face on cancer. It's honestly and powerfully written and the author never lets his words steal the emphasis from John and his family's story. None of us know how long we have or what's going to happen. The only thing we have control over is how we interact with our situation and the people around us. Even though he died at 18, John had dignity and humor and grace which belied his age.

John Challis was very real to me. I could feel his personality and sadness and compassion and humor and anger. It's an emotional and raw book, especially for me personally because I grew up in the area and know so many of the places written about in the book.

The author, Howard Shapiro, worked closely with John's family and friends to research and write this book. It's a book that will stay with me for a very long time.

“If I’m mad at anything in this, it’s that I’m not going to be able to have a son, I’m not going to be able to get married and have my own house. Those are the things I’m mad about. But not dying.”
—John Challis


Five stars, so gracefully written.

A heart-achingly beautiful book telling the story of one of life's true heroes.
I went into this book with no idea what to expect, as I had never heard anything about the John Challis story before, and I finished this book in tears wondering why everyone in the world hasn't heard about the John Challis story.
An incredibly brave & resilient young man who met every thing that was thrown at him head on with a grace and perseverance and attitude of one well beyond his years. This young man was truly incredible.
I will be honest, I cried most of my way through this amazing story, so I would say it is not one to read in public, but I was also so compelled that I read it in one sitting at home.
Everyone needs to read this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Highly recommended read! Thanks for providing through Net Galley. Five Stars *****

A very emotional and heartbreaking story. This story tore my heart out and I was made to feel every emotion that the victim went through. Such a powerful book. Truly inspirational.

I Was Picked: The John Challis Story by Howard Shapiro is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. This is a touching and remarkable story of a boy that is given months to love at the age of 16. He has a strong desire to achieve a diploma from high school with his friends with is two years away. Through lots of treatments, love, endorsement, and friendship this 18 year old made it to get his diploma! Very touching story with pictures, letters from friends, family, and himself at the end of the book. This really gets personal about what it was like for him and the family.

Given to me by netgalley. I have learned a lot from this story. JOHN CHALLIS was an exceptional human being. May he rest in peace. Kind, loving, unselfish being... His story and his message live on : Courage + Believe = Life.
@netgalleyreview @grateful @thankyou

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.

This is the true story of a teenage boy diagnosed with liver and lung cancer. John believed in Courage + Believe = Life. This is an emotional book with details of John's diagnosis and his treatment and subsequent death. There are wonderful contributions from his family, friends and many people John touched in his life.

This short book tells the story of John Challis. It is unusual in that John had already passed away before it was written so we never get a first hand account of this journey from him. However the words of every life he touched, particularly after his diagnosis, tell us so much about him. John lived a small life in a small town but had such a large impact on people everywhere. The support of his family and community were outstanding which really showed what a mighty person John Challis was.

OMG, this was... I don't have words!
Emotional! Inspirational! Powerful! Meaningful! Heartbreaking! ... ... ... WOW!

What I will remember from this is stop complaining about nothing, about little things, keep positive, do good, keep going until the end. Things happen, if you can't do anything about it just keep going, be positive, you're not dead yet. You've only got one shot at life, live it, don't waste it!
What a lesson! John was so strong! If he was still around I would have wanted to hug him and thank him!

Everybody should read this!

Thank you for allowing me to read and review this amazing, well written, book!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley.
This is a very difficult read based on the story/genre.. but such an inspiration. John Challis was a brave, inspirational soul. Read this.

First thank you to NetGalley and Animal Media Group for granting me the extreme honor of a free e-book in exchange for an honest opinion.

What a story, what an inspiration, what a family and what a truly remarkable young man John Challis was. To face a disease that 1 child in 2 million will have and face with such courage, strength, faith and humor is remarkable. John Challis had the wisdom that people my age (60) still don't have.

This book is very well written and gives insight by not just his family but all those who truly meant something to John. He was a true inspiration to everyone not only to those he met but to those who just heard his story.

Although this has a tragic and sad ending, it is uplifting and John's message is clear - it's not the number of breaths you take but what you do with the breaths you take.

Thank you again, especially to John's family for sharing his story with the world.

This is an honest and powerfully written biography about a young man who was taken way too soon.
John Challis was very brave even though he was faced with a cancer diagnosis. He faced it with dignity and courage.
This was an amazing story.
Thank you NetGalley and Animal Media Group for the ARC.