Anyone can survive, but it takes gumption to thrive.

“Usually, patients with a chronic illness become mentally ill.” Suzana Sandoval’s doctor commented. “I’m in awe as to how well you tolerate your disease. You’re different than our regular patients.”

He continued, “We can’t justify billing your insurance for a psychiatrist. Instead, we’re going to use you as a case study to help other transplant patients.”

Are you kidding? I’m in awe that I’m still alive. But don’t you think for a minute, Doc, that I don’t get the insanity slump. All the rules to keep me from rejecting my new liver are overwhelming at times.

Suzana suffered a wide range of adversity 7 times.

This included 5 near-death experiences. She survived and even thrived after:

1. Childhood bullying and thoughts of suicide

2. The loss of her leg at 16 due to a drunk-driving accident

3. A life-threatening abusive marriage

4. Liver failure and transplant at 56

5. Ruptured blood vessel that led to a near-death experience

6. A fall, which broke both elbows and shattered her knee

7. AFib with prescription mistakes that led to kidney failure

Walking Through the Fire is not about dying.

It’s about grasping every day as a gift from God and thriving. Suzana liked to say, “The bad things in life just make you stronger.”

Her daughters said, “But, Mother, other people don’t think like you do.” And the need for this memoir was born.

Walking Through the Fire will inspire you.

A masterful storyteller, Suzana will captivate and inspire you as she invites you inside her thoughts. She shares her struggles to thrive in a world full of unusual challenges.

She candidly reveals how her faith in God faltered at times. She tells her stories of thriving through chaos with vulnerability, transparency, and honesty.

The book contains 84 pictures, most in 3 chapters.

1. Snapshots of the Survivor

2. Snapshots of the Thriver (See the transformation in Suzana’s face.)

3. Snapshots of Grandmother's Ranch

Suzana got her gumption to thrive from her grandmother.

She spent her youth on her grandparents’ New Mexico sheep ranch while her parents, migrant workers, moved from place to place. She lived a feral existence in paradise. Skinny dipping highlighted every summer as she enjoyed the rich, cool red mud squishing up between her toes.

She turned her chores into a game by grinding blue corn in the cellar while singing, “Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream.” She observed and learned from nature.

Her grandmother was part Navajo Apache and a curandera, a native healer who practiced physical, psychological, and spiritual healing. She laid the foundation for Suzana to overcome and thrive despite tremendous physical and mental setbacks.

Then at age 11, Suzana’s mother took her to the city to babysit her younger siblings while she worked. Wanting to become a modern young woman, Suzana rejected the embarrassing old ways of her grandparents.

Why was Suzana different than others who suffer life's misfortunates?

Her grandmother’s upbringing helped her transform from a mere survivor into a true thriver in the face of many life-altering events.

When it mattered, Suzana returned to her early childhood experiences to thrive amidst adversities that most people cannot imagine enduring.

Order your copy now of Walking Through the Fire and become empowered to start thriving instead of merely surviving.