Michael Holtz is the author of It's Not Harder Than Cancer: The Mindsets You Need to Survive and Thrive After Serious Illness, in which he shares the life lessons he learned during his battle with stage-3b rectal cancer. He also shares his story as a motivational speaker. Michael lives in Knoxville, Tenn., with the lovely Sarah, his wife of nearly 20 years, and their rescue dog, a Golden Bassett named Marley. He is a long-time public relations and marketing practitioner, currently working as a part-time account coordinator for z11 communications. He also works full-time as the Director of Community Assessment and Health Promotion for the Knox County Health Department. He blogs about life after cancer at his website, www.michaelholtzonline.com.