A Life Reclaimed tells the story of my niece, Sheila May Advento, a quadruple amputee, her close shave with death in 2003 at age 26 due to meningococcemia, her survival and continuing efforts to rebuild her life. I painted her portrait which was used for the book cover. The book was published by Booklocker.com in September 2009.

A lot more has happened since Sheila’s amputation which are not covered in the book. In 2010, she became the first woman in the United States to receive a bilateral hand transplant. She went through years of occupational therapy thereafter. Today, she enjoys the use of her “new hands” which, despite continuous complications and struggles with her health and disability benefits, she considers “a gift from heaven”.

To get free excerpts or to order the book, click here. It is also available at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and other online booksellers in kindle, nook, ePub, and Pdf versions.