"This book is a testament to the extraordinary depth, powers, and resiliency of children's spirits." Marion Wright Edelman, president, Children's Defense Fund IfI Get to Fiveis a one-of-a-kind book by a one-of-a-kind human being. The medical world knows him as Fred Epstein, M.D., the neurosurgeon who pioneered life-saving procedures for previously inoperable tumors in children. His patients and their families know him simply as Dr. Fred, the "miracle man" who has extended them both a healing hand and an open heart. Throughout his career Epstein's young patients have been his most important teachers and trusted guides. They are children whooften by sheer force of willhave refused to relinquish life and all its gifts. In this inspiring book, these children teach us the lessons we all need to learn in order to live life to the fullestlessons about seizing the moment and facing our deepest fears, about embracing the joy and wonder of everyday life. Most of all, they teach lessons about uncommon couragethe courage to do what's hardest, to believe in what we don't understand, to love without boundaries. If I Get to Fivetakes us inside a world unlike any other, from the high-stakes, high-tech operating room where life and death are separated by a heartbeat to the sickrooms and recovery rooms where parents discover the limits and power of their faith. But most compelling of all is the journey inside the hearts, minds, and souls of the wisest children you will ever encounter. No one who reads this remarkable book will ever look at childrenor adversityin the same way. Fred Epstein, M.D., is the founding director of the Institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. He has served as president of both the International Society of Pediatric Neurosurgery and the American Society of Pediatric Neurosurgery. Epstein lives with his wife and children in Greenwich, Connecticut. Joshua Horwitzis the president of Living Planet Books, a book-packaging firm in Washington, D.C., where he lives with his wife and three daughters. He is the coauthor of a book about the book of Genesis,Wrestling with Angels. Throughout his career as a pioneering pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. Fred Epstein's young patients have been his most important teachers and trusted guides. In this inspiring book, Dr. Epstein's patients teach us the lessons we all need to learn in order to live life to the fullestlessons about seizing the moment and facing our deepest fears, about holding someone's hand, and about embracing the joy and wonder of everyday life. Most of all, they teach lessons about uncommon couragethe courage to do what's hardest, to believe in what we don't understand, to love without fear and without boundaries. If I Get to Fivetakes us inside a world unlike any other, from the high-stakes, high-tech O.R. where life and death are separated by a heartbeat to the sickrooms and recovery rooms where parents discover the limits and power of their faith. It also tells the inspiring story of Fred Epstein's lifefrom his struggles with severe learning disabilities as a child to his groundbreaking accomplishments as a surgeon. Recently, when Dr. Epstein suffered a traumatic brain injury and faced a daunting rehabilitation, the advice of the children he'd saved helped illuminate his own path to recovery. Most compelling of all, however, is the journey inside the hearts, minds, and souls of the wisest children you will ever encounter. "We tend to think of children as fragile, little people," says Dr. Fred Epstein. "To me, they're giants."If I Get to Fiveis a tribute to the hidden strengths of c