A warrior who fought for life
Perhaps a teacher cared enough about you to sound an alarm. Or a caring friend. Or maybe a medical professional urged you to drop a bad habit and live healthier. And then you changed.
For Brent Green that life-change agent was Mark Crooks, a doctoral student in exercise physiology. After just one run with him through a city park, Brent cast off a seven-year cigarette habit and reoriented his thinking to wellness.
In honor of Mark—who succumbed to cancer in 2010 after battling for fifty-seven years with five occurrences—Brent wrote Warrior. This inspiring biographical novel celebrates a wellness mindset and shares life lessons bestowed by his friend.
“If you’re going to meet your destiny in control, rather than be controlled by it, then you must commit to becoming a warrior.”
After Warrior's protagonist endures disfiguring cancer at age eight, he toughens up and battles the malevolent disease for the rest of his life. Extreme fitness experiments become his core survival strategy. He achieves PhD degrees in exercise physiology and sports psychology; cofounds one of the nation's first cardiac rehabilitation centers; and, as a scientist cum daredevil, demonstrates superhuman resilience with extreme feats—calling attention to the restorative power of positive risk-taking.
With a steadfast lover at his side, his herculean exploits include jumping nine stories from a bridge into a muddy river; scuba diving underwater nonstop for over forty hours; freefalling one mile during his first skydive; swimming 375 miles from Kansas City to St. Louis in the Missouri River while fighting hypothermia; and scaling the tallest skyscraper in Denver to support cancer research.
Warrior gives readers a survivor’s guide to a more resilient future, especially those battling chronic diseases and aging. Within the pages of this biographical novel are lessons for anyone who is growing old and wants to fight back. Lastly, Warrior presents an uplifting testimonial to the benefits of hospice care at the end of life.
“WARRIOR will be a great inspiration to readers from all walks of life who struggle with varying difficulties, and I hope they walk away with valuable lessons from Mark’s life. Definitely a recommended read.” Star Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5
“WARRIOR will be of great interest to both the men and women of the Baby Boomer generation who are just now coming to grips with the challenges associated with aging. With its inspiring message about rising to life’s occasion, WARRIOR takes its rightful place alongside Tuesdays with Morrie and The Last Lecture.”
“WARRIOR is a moving story of a very complex man. It goes far beyond the standard cancer memoir, treating the reader to a fascinating tour of the mind of a character who is far from a typical cancer survivor. The Afterword explains more about the real-life inspiration for the book and includes a nice tribute to hospice programs.”
“WARRIOR is such a powerful, hard-hitting story of a remarkable achiever — and which offers such inspiration and hope for any cancer survivor looking for their own higher perspective on survival and wellness.”
“WARRIOR is not only a work of love that eloquently captures the essence of one man’s battle with cancer, but also a stark reminder to all of us that leading a healthy-conscious lifestyle carries tremendous benefits — even when dealing with the toughest of diseases. Definitely, a must read to all who desire to live life the fullest!” Star Rating: 5 out of 5
“WARRIOR is a moving story of a very complex man. It goes far beyond the standard cancer memoir, treating the reader to a fascinating tour of the mind of a character who is far from a typical cancer survivor. The Afterword explains more about the real-life inspiration for the book and includes a nice tribute to hospice programs.”
